TREASURY

Analogue Wave Band

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) estimate he has made and (b) research he has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated on the value of the sale of the analogue wave band to public funds.

Ruth Kelly: The terms and method of reallocation of radio spectrum released by digital switchover are a matter for Ofcom. Additionally, the scope of future uses will be dependent on the result of international negotiations commencing in 2006. Hence, the Government are not currently in a position to make an estimate of the likely value of spectrum.
	However, the Government have produced an economic cost-benefit analysis of digital switchover. The positive result of this study informed the Government's decision to confirm their support for switchover in September 2003 as it will bring significant benefits to consumers and to broadcasters. A summary of the results can be found at: www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk

Inland Revenue

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when the Inland Revenue Avoidance Intelligence Unit will commence work; and how many staff it will employ;
	(2)  what the total costs, including employment, are for the Inland Revenue Avoidance Intelligence Unit for this financial year.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue's Avoidance Intelligence Unit will be operational by the time the tax avoidance disclosure rules come into effect on 1 August 2004. The anticipated initial funding for the Unit is £1.5 million for the first full year. The precise number of staff who will be employed within the Unit is not fixed but will be under constant review and will vary according to the level of work the Unit has to handle.

Civil Registration (Consultation)

Brian Iddon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the origins of the responses to the document Civil Registration: Delivering Vital Change; and how many were received from (a) registration officers, (b) genealogists and (c) the general public.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the General Registrar for England and Wales, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Iddon, dated 27 May 2004
	As National Statistician and Registrar General For England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the origins of the responses to the document Civil Registration: Delivering Vital Change; and how many were received from (a) registration officers (b) genealogists and (c) the general public. (176583)
	There were 516 responses from registration officers, 30 from genealogists who explicitly identified themselves as such and 2,310 from the general public. Of the latter group there were many whose main interest appeared to be in family history and genealogy, although a number also commented on other issues such as the propose changes to the system of civil marriage. The large number of responses received will be taken into consideration before proposals are laid before Parliament for scrutiny in the form of a proposed draft Regulatory Reform Order and Explanatory Memorandum.
	Indeed, in her Statement to the House of Commons on 29 March the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Ruth Kelly) explained that she had been pleased to see there had been almost 3,400 responses to the consultation document "Civil Registration: Delivering Vital Change". She added that this indicated a very real interest among a wide range of stakeholders—registration practitioners and managers, the public and other interested organisations—in this area of reform.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter of 24 March 2004 from Stewart Stevenson MSP regarding World Vision.

Paul Boateng: There is no record of the letter being received. A copy has been requested and will be replied to as soon as possible.

Correspondence

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter dated 9 March from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding whisky strip stamps.

John Healey: I have done so.

Employment (Blackpool, North and Fleetwood)

Joan Humble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in tourism-related jobs in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood on the latest date for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been has to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Joan Humble, dated 27 May 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about tourism-related jobs in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood. (176398)
	The latest available data, from the 2002 Annual Business Inquiry, shows that the total number of jobs in tourism related industries in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood Parliamentary Constituency was 4,400. This total is obtained by combining figures for those working in the following industries, as identified by Standard Industrial Classification 2003:
	hotels
	restaurants
	bars
	activities of travel agencies
	library, archives, museums etc.
	sporting activities
	other recreational activities.

Employment (Blackpool, North and Fleetwood)

Joan Humble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new jobs have been created in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Joan Humble, dated 27 May 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about jobs created in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood. (176399)
	While statistics of new jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, in numbers of jobs, from year-to-year.
	The attached table shows the information requested relating to jobs Blackpool, North and Fleetwood, for 1997 and the latest year available, 2002.
	
		Total number of employees(1) in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood Parliamentary Constituency: 1997 and 2002
		
			  Number, per cent. 
			  Total 
		
		
			 Number of employees 
			 1997 32,000 
			 2002 31,500 
			 Change from 1997 to 2002 
			 Absolute -500 
		
	
	(1)   Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
	Source:
	1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

Employment Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in each year since 1979, broken down by constituency within each region.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Chris Ruane, dated 27 May 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment. I am replying in his absence. (175126)
	Estimates of the number of people in employment broken down by Parliamentary Constituencies within each region, are only available for the twelve month periods ending February 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. This information has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Estimates are taken from the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
	Information for individual constituencies in Northern Ireland is not shown in the table, but is available from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Football (Taxation)

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the overall liability from the Premier League and football league clubs to the Treasury in unpaid taxes, deferred taxes and business rates is.

Dawn Primarolo: Individual businesses are monitored by both revenue Departments when they fall into arrears. However information on the debts of particular groups according to the nature of their business is not held centrally in both Departments. The information requested is therefore not readily available.

Fuel Sales (VAT)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much VAT was raised from fuel sales in April.

John Healey: Customs and Excise do not collect data on VAT from individual goods and services. VAT from household expenditure on road fuels can be broadly estimated from ONS Consumer Trends data. However, data are published on a quarterly basis only.

Honours

Brian White: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much time his Department spent dealing with honours in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by Civil Service grade.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has a designated honours secretary at Range D (HEO/SEO) level for whom work in this area takes up around 10 per cent. of working hours.
	The Management Board meets twice a year for an hour to consider nominations. Members of the Management Board also spend a very small amount of their time considering honours-related issues, but it is not possible to disaggregate this.
	Information is not available on time spent on honours-related work by other staff within the Treasury and across its associated bodies.

Industrial Wages

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average industrial wage in Great Britain is.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Gregory Campbell, dated 27 May 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the average industrial wage in Great Britain. (175854)
	Average earnings are estimated from the 2003 New Earnings Survey (NES) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for NES tables. The NES does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	The 2003 NES estimates that the total average industrial weekly earnings of full-time adult employees in Great Britain was £469.00.
	The industrial wage covers all Production, Distribution and Service sectors of the economy. More detailed information on earnings is available in the published tables from the 2003 NES. They are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme   labour/NES2003Analyses   ByIndustry/NES2003   Analyses   By   Industry.pdf.
	The NES, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in Great Britain. It is a one per cent. sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes but, because of its sampling frame, it has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
	The New Earnings Survey publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive and of reliable quality. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.

International Development

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received in the past 12 months in relation to the target for spending 0.7 per cent. of gross national income on development, broken down by type of representation.

John Healey: The Government have received the usual representations on all subjects relating to official development assistance (oda). Data on the numbers and types of representations are not held centrally in the format requested.
	Since 1997 the UK's level of oda has increased in real terms by 93 per cent. It reached 0.34 per cent. of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2003–04, and is expected to exceed the EU target of 0.39 per cent. for member states in 2005–06. The UK remains committed to the UN target of 0.7 per cent. oda/GNI and to meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

International Development

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in drawing up spending plans in the 2004 Comprehensive Spending Review, he will treat funds committed through the International Finance Facility as counting towards the target of spending 0.7 per cent. of gross national income on development.

John Healey: The results of the Spending Review will be made public in due course. The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) rules on the eligibility for official development assistance (oda), and it will be a matter for the DAC to decide what contribution IFF monies would make towards the UK oda/GNI level. The precise arrangements for the operation of the International Finance Facility (IFF) are still the subject of discussions between the UK and other interested governments.
	The IFF has been designed to front-load the aid to reach the $50 billion extra per year that it is estimated is needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On current trends few of the MDGs will be met by the target date of 2015, and many will remain off-track without increased investment by donor countries. By delivering aid now, when it will have the most impact, the IFF will be able to provide the world's poorest countries with the funds they desperately need.

National Minimum Wage (Manchester)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many workers in Manchester, Central have benefited from the national minimum wage.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 27 May 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of workers in Manchester Central who have benefited from the national minimum wage (NMW). I am replying in his absence. (175716)
	Estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies are not available.
	However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates estimates of the number of jobs paid less than NMW rates for the United Kingdom and Government Office Regions. A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles and data can be found on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=272

Official Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of official vehicles used by his Department are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquid petroleum gas and (d) compressed natural gas.

Ruth Kelly: HM Treasury's ministerial vehicles are provided by the Government Car Service. Detailed information on the breakdown of the GSC vehicle fleet was provided by the Cabinet Office on 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1538W.

Petrol and Diesel Duty

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the revenue which would be raised from petrol and diesel duty if pump prices rose to 90 pence a litre on average in the week beginning 17 May and stayed at that price for the rest of 2004–05;
	(2)  what the tax take is from each additional one penny on the litre price of fuel at the pumps;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the amount of tax revenue which the Government would raise from petrol and diesel if pump prices remain at their current level for the rest of the financial year;
	(4)  what his latest forecast is for the revenue from all taxes on petrol and diesel for 2004–05;
	(5)  what the Budget forecast was for all tax revenues on petrol and diesel for 2004–05.

John Healey: The forecast revenue from fuel duty is published in table C.8 of the 2004 Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 301). Estimates of the impact of duty changes were published in "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs", alongside the 2003 pre-Budget report (Cm 6042). Reliable estimates of the impact of changes in prices are not available.

Plastic Carrier Bags

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of a tax on disposable plastic carrier bags.

John Healey: The Government currently have no plans to introduce a tax on plastic bags. In the UK plastic bags comprise less than 1 per cent. of the waste stream. Hence a tax on plastic bags, on its own, would be unlikely to have any significant impacts on volumes of waste. Further, the Government have a range of measures in place to tackle the problem of waste, including the landfill tax which goes some way to maintaining the principle that the polluter pays by internalising the cost of the damage to the environment caused by landfill and encouraging recycling.
	An assessment of the Irish tax on plastic bags has been completed and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

Regulation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether the impact assessments described in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January will be applied to existing EU legislation; and whether such legislation will be repealed if the costs are found not to justify the benefits;
	(2)  whether the impact assessments described in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January will include a requirement to estimate the (a) costs and (b) benefits of proposed new EU legislation;
	(3)  whether the simplification of the Community Acquis referred to in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January will involve (a) deregulation and (b) the removal of legal texts that are obsolete and outdated without changing their legal status;
	(4)  what the implementation timetable is for the (a) introduction of impacts assessments and (b) simplification of the Community Acquis referred to in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January.

Ruth Kelly: The Joint Initiative on Regulatory Reform was welcomed by the Spring European Council in March. Following on from this, the Competitiveness Council endorsed an initial work programme at its 17–18 May meeting, including improvements to impact assessment and review of existing legislation. The European Council has committed to return to the issue at its November meeting.
	The EU's impact assessment process was introduced as part of its Better Regulation Action Plan and covers both costs and benefits of potential action. The joint initiative contains a number of measures designed to strengthen this analysis, relating to both costs and benefits. In particular, the joint initiative called for better assessment of the impact of proposals on EU competitiveness.
	With regard to simplification of existing legislation, the joint initiative builds on the Commission's work under its Better Regulation Action Plan. The scope of this programme includes reform or removal of existing legislation which is in force, as well as of that which is obsolete or no longer in use.
	The Government will continue to work with EU partners ahead of the November Council to take forward work in this area.

Retained Firefighters (Tax Relief)

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to give tax relief to businesses that employ retained firefighters.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes will be announced as part of the normal Budget process.

Statutory Paternity Leave

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to help businesses administer the statutory paid paternity leave introduced on 6 April 2003; what targets have been set for this work; and what budget has been allocated.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue provide extensive assistance and support to employers operating the Statutory Paternity Pay scheme.
	As well as paper guidance assistance is available for employers on the Revenue's internet site in a simple question and answer format.
	The Revenue also send all employers a CD-ROM which contains guidance and other aids in easily navigable format.
	The Revenue's, Business Support teams provide a free workshop for employers on SPP at locations across the UK. Assistance is also available on a one to one basis.
	The Revenue's Employer's Helpline offers telephone assistance at hours to suit the employer.
	The Inland Revenue are also working on the provision of an internet calculator for SPP.
	The Inland Revenue do not set a budget or targets for assistance to employers which can be broken down between different employer obligations.

Statutory Paternity Leave

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2004, Official Report, column 150W, on statutory paternity pay, when the statistics will become available.

Dawn Primarolo: Employers will notify the Inland Revenue of the numbers of employees who have received SPP in their annual returns for the 2003–04 tax year. Those returns were due on 19 May 2004, they are received over several months and the Inland Revenue will not have completed processing them until later in the year. Employers are not required to notify us of all requests for SPP, only of payments made.

Tax Credits

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether migrants from the EU accession countries are entitled to (a) the child tax credit and (b) the working tax credit; and on what conditions.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the letter from my hon. Friend the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration sent to all Members of Parliament on 10 May 2004. A copy of the letter can be found in the Library of the House.

Unemployment (Manchester)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth unemployment in Manchester, Central over the last seven years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 27 May 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. I am replying in his absence. (175715)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Manchester Central Parliamentary Constituency.
	ONS also compiles statistics on those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.
	The table below gives the total number of people who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months and the number of people aged 18 to 24 who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months, for the Manchester Central constituency. The figures are annual averages for each year since 1997.
	
		Number of people claiming JSA for over 12 months(2)
		
			  All ages Aged 18 to 24 
		
		
			 1997 2,403 432 
			 1998 1,691 285 
			 1999 1,445 120 
			 2000 1,199 49 
			 2001 1,117 36 
			 2002 992 49 
			 2003 822 70 
		
	
	(2)   Computerised claims only.

Youth Unemployment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many long-term youth unemployed there were in each year since 1979, broken down by constituency within each region.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane dated 27 May 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (175127)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation
	definitions.
	Table 1 gives estimated of the numbers of people aged 16 to 24 who were unemployed for 12 months or longer in the twelve months periods ending in February of each year from 2000 to 2003. Comparable information is not available for earlier periods. The LFS sample size is too small to give reliable information for each Parliamentary Constituency. As with any statistical sample survey, estimates for the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
	ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary Constituencies. Table 2 gives the number of people aged 18 to 24 years who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months, by Government Office Regions, for April each of year from 1986 to 2003. The data are not seasonally adjusted. Data at regional level are not available for earlier years.
	This information is also available for Parliamentary Constituencies within each Government Office Region from the Nomis (r) database at the House of Commons Library.
	
		Table 1: Number of people aged 16 to 24 years in long-term unemployment(3) Government Office Regions, twelve months ending February each year from 2000 to 2003
		
			 Number 
			  United Kingdom North East North West Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands West Midlands 
		
		
			 2000 67 (4)— 13 7 6 (4)— 
			 2001 66 6 9 5 (4)— 7 
			 2002 64 5 9 5 (4)— 4 
			 2003 61 4 9 5 (4)— 4 
		
	
	
		Number
		
			  Eastern London South East South West Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 2000 (4)— 9 (4)— (4)— (4)— 9 (4)— 
			 2001 (4)— 11 4 4 5 (4)— (4)— 
			 2002 (4)— 13 (4)— (4)— 3 6 (4)— 
			 2003 (4)— 11 4 (4)— 3 7 (4)— 
		
	
	(3)   Refers to those who are unemployed over 12 months.
	(4)   Sample size too small for reliable estimates.
	Source:
	ONS: Labour Force Survey.
	
		Table 2: Number of people aged 18 to 24 years claiming(5) Jobseeker's Allowance for more than 12 months GovernmentOffice Regions, April2 of each year from 1986–2004
		
			 Number 
			  North East North West Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands West Midlands Eastern 
		
		
			 1986 25,168 54,074 32,455 18,067 37,595 13,804 
			 1987 18,972 45,551 28,843 15,411 31,626 11,046 
			 1988 12,292 29,282 19,365 9,845 20,164 6,350 
			 1989 8,758 20,495 12,191 5,978 12,002 2,822 
			 1990 6,932 15,757 8,655 3,778 8,153 1,839 
			 1991 6,858 17,020 9,630 5,270 9,329 3,389 
			 1992 10,169 25,848 16,419 10,626 18,312 9,375 
			 1993 11,602 29,651 19,854 13,914 24,469 14,352 
			 1994 10,848 25,277 17,247 13,005 21,314 12,950 
			 1995 9,562 20,093 14,319 10,002 16,295 9,592 
			 1996 8,379 16,274 12,429 8,131 12,776 7,744 
			 1997 5,947 11,815 8,743 5,262 8,621 5,199 
			 1998 3,761 6,706 5,277 2,579 5,309 2,525 
			 1999 926 2,100 1,138 886 2,172 698 
			 2000 438 800 406 268 1,004 296 
			 2001 285 531 295 220 602 198 
			 2002 261 752 407 279 581 260 
			 2003 221 847 349 293 436 312 
			 2004 258 802 363 508 637 479 
		
	
	
		Number
		
			  London South East South West Wales Scotland Northern Ireland 
		
		
			 1986 33,871 17,572 14,147 19,250 37,216 (7)— 
			 1987 29,281 14,434 11,276 13,953 34,268 (7)— 
			 1988 20,753 8,022 6,506 8,686 24,414 (7)— 
			 1989 14,216 3,554 3,857 5,855 17,552 (7)— 
			 1990 8,691 2,319 2,470 3,833 13,683 (7)— 
			 1991 10,903 4,017 3,767 4,582 12,049 (7)— 
			 1992 23,225 12,362 10,071 8,399 15,709 (7)— 
			 1993 32,129 19,357 13,853 9,957 17,488 (7)— 
			 1994 30,582 17,269 11,783 9,042 15,024 (7)— 
			 1995 27,848 12,564 9,074 7,027 12,152 (7)— 
			 1996 24,657 10,002 7,623 6,246 9,815 5,636 
			 1997 16,467 6,468 5,150 4,642 7,705 4,372 
			 1998 8,707 2,743 2,201 2,570 4,251 3,193 
			 1999 3,482 652 506 534 1,740 1,226 
			 2000 1,251 285 165 209 414 725 
			 2001 791 151 132 127 263 657 
			 2002 1,065 202 191 155 251 559 
			 2003 1,248 304 205 195 288 369 
			 2004 1,410 497 265 191 338 338 
		
	
	(5)   Computerised claims only.
	(6)   The data are not seasonally adjusted.
	(7)   Data not available.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus administrative system.

PRIME MINISTER

Cabinet Committees

Meg Munn: To ask the Prime Minister when he will next publish the full membership and terms of reference of Cabinet Committees.

Tony Blair: I have placed a copy of the current list of Cabinet Committees, their membership and terms of reference in the Libraries of both Houses. Details have also been updated on the Cabinet Office website.

Correspondence

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the letter reported in The Times of 21 May regarding the time taken to reply to letters from hon. Members, peers and MEPs.

Tony Blair: I and my Ministerial colleagues attach great importance to dealing with all correspondence quickly and effectively. On 20 May, my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) published a report on the performance of Departments and Agencies in handling correspondence from hon. Members and noble Peers for 2003. Copies are available in the Library of the House.

Czech Republic

Jim Cousins: To ask the Prime Minister what steps he took to secure the export of Gripen aircraft to the Czech Republic.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Mr. Taylor) on 9 July 2003, Official Report, column 853W.

Hunting Bill

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received about reintroducing the Hunting Bill in this Session; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: Since January I have received over 1,600 letters and cards about the issue of hunting. Given the volume of correspondence I receive, over one million letters and cards in the last year covering a broad spectrum of issues, my office records letters by subject rather than by the view expressed.

Lockerbie Bombing

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the outcome of his meeting with the Lockerbie relatives on Monday 24 May.

Tony Blair: I had a very constructive meeting with the Lockerbie families on 24 May. It was an opportunity for me to brief them on my visit to Libya in March and to listen to the families' concerns, which we take very seriously.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Athletics

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the financial viability of UK Sport's elite athletes programme; whether she intends to draw more funds from the devolved Governments to increase the finances available to this fund; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: UK Sport recently presented their Business Plan for 200509, including details of proposed support to elite athletes, to the Sports Cabinet. The Sports Cabinet considered the proposals in terms of funding need, value for money and affordability and has requested further work be undertaken to ensure that sufficient funds are available for the next Olympic cycle. There is no intention to draw more funds from devolved Governments.

Legal Deposits Libraries Act

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding her Department has allocated for (a) the long-term storage of the British Library's newspaper collection and (b) the archiving of digital material as required under the Legal Deposits Libraries Act 2003.

Estelle Morris: DCMS recognises the key storage needs of the British Library, and in SR 2002 set aside an extra amount of capital (3 million in 200405 and 8 million in 200506) to help the British Library address this. The Department is aware of the British Library's bid for further resources to accelerate the programme of newspaper microfilm surrogate production and to manage digital materials. This is being considered as part of the 2004 Spending Review. The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 allows for the possibility of archiving digital material; the precise manner in which this is done will be dependent on regulations which will be brought forward incrementally after consideration by an Advisory Panel.

Licensing

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects responsibility for licensing to be transferred to local authorities.

Richard Caborn: Licensing authorities, who will generally be local authorities, will be able to accept applications for the conversion of existing licences and club registration certificates from the first appointed day. This will be at least six months after my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State issues the Guidance to licensing authorities. The timetable for full implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 is dependent on parliamentary approval of the draft guidance, which was laid before Parliament on 23 March. If Parliament is content, we expect to complete the implementation of the Act around late summer 2005.

Regional Tourist Boards

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the membership of each regional tourist board has been in the last three years.

Richard Caborn: Regional Tourist Boards are not Government agencies, their board members are not appointed by Ministers and records of their membership are not held centrally.

Regional Tourist Boards

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the expenditure of each regional tourist board has been in the last three years, broken down by main budget heading.

Richard Caborn: Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs) are not Government agencies and records of their expenditure are not held centrally. Most of them are private companies limited by guarantee and they have income in addition to Government funding.
	Funding via the English Tourism Council in 200102 and 200203 and via the Regional Development Agencies in 200304 totalled 6.5 million, 5.7 million and 3.6 million in these years respectively. Government funding passed to the RTBs in these years for specific tourism projects, delivery of national objectives at a regional level and activities in line with regional strategies. Separately, funding of 1.9 million per annum passed from DCMS to the Greater London Authority who, worked with the London Tourist Board (renamed VisitLondon in 2003), on marketing London overseas and tourism development.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bisham Footpath 9

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government office for the south-east intends to issue its decision on Bisham footpath 9, following the public inquiry, which was completed on 9 November 2003.

Margaret Beckett: The Government office for the south-east is considering the Inspector's report and expects to issue a decision next month.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current status of the gamma interferon trials being conducted by her Department is; what the total cost so far expended on developing this test is; and what the estimated total cost fully to develop this test to the point where it can be used routinely is.

Ben Bradshaw: Desk studies have estimated that significant savings will need to accrue from the use of gamma interferon (g-IFN) before it becomes cost-effective in GB. The field trial of the g-IFN test taking place in Wales and the Midlands is sponsored by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government. It aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of using g-IFN in infected herds in conjunction with the single intradermal comparative cervical test.
	The field pilot began in November 2002, with the intention to recruit 660 herds. Recruitment to the trial has been slow, with 115 herds recruited by 19 May 2004. Approximately one third of herds recruited so far are g-IFN tested, with the other herds subject to extra-severe interpretation of the skin test and a control group (status quo).
	From May 2004, newly recruited herds will have a 50 per cent. chance of being allocated the g-IFN treatment, with 25 per cent. allocated to extra-severe and 25 per cent. to control groups. It is hoped this will encourage more eligible herd owners to participate.
	Since 1999, the Government have spent more than 900,000 on g-IFN research projects and 8.5 million on other research projects contributing to the development of g-IFN as a diagnostic test. This is in addition to the 667,000 we expect to spend on the field pilot for the test.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average number of cattle involved in a herd TB breakdown was over the last five years; what the average was in herds with repeat breakdowns; and what epidemiological significance there is to the number of animals affected in a herd breakdown.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table details the average number of reactor cattle slaughtered per TB incident (breakdown) over the last five years:
	
		
			  Reactors per incident 1 
		
		
			 1999 2.5 
			 2000 2.8 
			 2001 3.1 
			 2002 4.7 
			 2003 3.6 
		
	
	(8)   Includes all the herd incidents recorded each year (new and ongoing).
	Separate figures are not available for herds with recurrent breakdowns as a subgroup of all breakdowns. This data can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of reactors per incident is a proxy for the severity of a TB breakdown. Severity of a breakdown is in turn determined by the number of cattle in the herd infected at the initial exposure (index animals), the time elapsed between introduction of infection in the herd and the disclosing test (or slaughterhouse case), social interactions between infective and susceptible cattle, herd size, herd management system, susceptibility of the host, the portal of entry into the host and infective dose and, possibly, the strain of M. bovis causing the breakdown. Confirmed TB incidents tend to last longer and yield more reactors than unconfirmed incidents.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in how many herd breakdowns in 2003 only one reactor was detected; and in how many of those herds there had been no cattle movements into the herds in the preceding 60 days.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2003 there were 1204 1 breakdowns with one reactor detected. Of these, the number with no cattle movements in the preceding 60 days is not centrally recorded on the State Veterinary Service database and can only be provided at disproportionate cost from other sources.
	1 Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database on 45 March 2004. Subject to change as more data becomes available.
	Note:
	For the purposes of this question a reactor has been defined as (i) an animal which reacts positively to the tuberculin test and (ii) an animal which has had an inconclusive reaction to the tuberculin tests on three occasions.

Bovine TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tuberculin positive reactor cattle were slaughtered in the UK in each year from 1999 to 2003 inclusive; and in how many bovine TB infection was not confirmed on culture or examination post mortem in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is given in the following table for Great Britain.
	
		
			  Number of TB reactor cattle slaughtered 1 Number of unconfirmed cases(10) 
		
		
			 1999 5,910 2,709 
			 2000 7,031 2,629 
			 2001(11) 5,048 2,293 
			 2002 19,903 9,671 
			 2003 20,117 10,180 
		
	
	(9)   For the purposes of this question a reactor has been defined as (i) an animal which reacts positively to the tuberculin test or (ii) an animal which has had an inconclusive reaction to the tuberculin tests on three occasions.
	(10)   Failure to detect visible lesions or culture Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) from samples does not confirm the absence of infection or that the animal has not been exposed to M. bovis.
	(11)   In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result since 2002 the statistical data is not comparable to that of previous years.
	Note:
	Data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database on 1 April 2004 (19992001) and 8 March 2004 (200203). This is provisional data, which is subject to change, as more data becomes available.

Bovine TB

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further research she proposes to undertake to investigate TB in wildlife; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra is funding the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and associated research (including the Road Traffic Accident survey of badger carcases in seven English counties). A limited survey of wildlife (badgers, and deer with suspicious lesions) killed on the roads in the Furness Peninsula, Cumbria is also under way.
	Recently published research highlights that the use of farm buildings and cattle troughs by badgers can constitute a TB risk to cattle. A study of possible badger/cattle interactions and how cattle husbandry methods may limit these is under way.
	Defra currently funds two research projects investigating the risk to cattle from wildlife species other than badgers. Both projects are due to be completed during 2004 and their final reports will be studied closely before deciding on future research requirements in this area.
	Other work is looking at the perturbation effects of removing badgers from an ecosystem, innovative ways of estimating badger numbers and a project to derive economic values associated with changes in badger populations. Another project is devising strategies to diagnose M. bovis infection in badgers in the field (such as alternatives to the Brock test with increased sensitivity).
	Defra is also part-funding collaborative work on the experimental vaccination of badgers with BCG in the Republic of Ireland through a contract with the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. A recent workshop (April) with the animal pharmaceutical industry discussed possible ways of taking this work forward.

Bovine TB

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the extra costs, beyond the cost of the test itself, to farmers of using a TB test; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The cost of statutory tuberculin testing by an authorised Veterinary Surgeon is currently paid for by Defra. Cattle keepers are responsible for presenting the animals for testing in a manner in which the test can be performed safely, this includes provision of the necessary cattle handling equipment and labour.
	The main cost to farmers incurred for TB testing is labour use. The time spent on testing varies greatly from farm to farm, and will depend on such factors as the size of the herd, the age, breed and sex of the animals, the efficiency of the system employed, the way the cattle are handled, gathering times, preparation and cleaning times and subsequent post-test paperwork.
	Some dairy farmers have also reported a reduction in milk yield on testing days.
	A full Regulatory Impact Assessment will be required if proposals on pre or post-movement testing outlined in the consultation document preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis are taken forward. This will include an assessment of the additional economic burden to farmers.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received on behalf of the UK (a) off-shore oil and gas operators, (b) electricity generators and (c) coal industry regarding Government policy on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide.

Elliot Morley: The Secretary of State has received numerous representations from the three industrial sectors described above. All three sectors have been closely involved with the consultations on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme National Allocation Plan and have submitted consultation responses.
	Furthermore, operators of installations in the offshore oil and gas industry and the coal industry are direct participants in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and have considerable ongoing contact with the Department because of this.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to ensure that the area of traditional apple orchards that is not currently covered by the countryside stewardship scheme is included in 2005.

Alun Michael: I can confirm that, subject to approval by the European Commission, the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme which we plan to introduce in 2005 will contain measures designed to maintain and restore traditional orchards. These will be similar to the measures we have successfully operated under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. While we hope for a high level of uptake, we cannot guarantee complete coverage, not least because the scheme is voluntary.

Dairy Calves

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many male dairy calves have been (a) shot and (b) disposed of on UK farms in each of the last three years as being without financial value.

Alun Michael: Data from the Cattle Tracing System (CTS) on calves of up to 14 days age that either die on farm or are killed at slaughterhouses are tabulated as follows. However, it should be noted that many cattle are not registered under the CTS until they are over 14 days old and these figures are therefore an underestimate.
	
		
			  Cattle up to 14-days-old that died on farm Cattle up to 14-days-old that died at a slaughterhouse 
		
		
			 2001 27,975 66,051 
			 2002 20,784 59,934 
			 2003(12) 15,740 40,437 
		
	
	(12)   Data for 2003 only covers the months January to November, inclusive.

Departmental Buildings

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many buildings in England owned by her Department are used at less than 25 per cent. capacity for more than three months of the year.

Alun Michael: Five buildings on the Defra estate fall within this category. All five have been declared surplus and are awaiting disposal.
	The Department does not hold information centrally about properties occupied by non-departmental public bodies but the use of premises by the wider Defra family is currently being reviewed.

Eggs

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations she has received about the impact the cost of egg stamping is likely to have on small-scale egg producers; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Defra has received an estimated 3,150 inquiries on the Registration of Laying Flocks Order and the Egg Marketing Regulationsby far the majority of these were from producers wanting to know how to comply with the legal requirements. We have also held meetings with representative bodies, including the National Federation of Women's Institutes; the National Association of Farmers; and the Small Farms Association. For small-scale producers, a stamp and ink (that will last for years) can cost just a few pounds. Most small producers appear to have been satisfied that the costs are reasonable and can be borne comfortably.

Emissions Trading Scheme

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to encourage the European Commission to take a robust line with EU members who produce over-generous national allocation plans under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to ensure that significant reductions in carbon emissions are achieved.

Elliot Morley: It is vital that other member states' national allocation plans are robust and ambitious. We welcome the Commission's recent announcement regarding national allocation plans, that clearly demonstrates that they intend to take a firm line in the analysis of these plans.
	Government have commissioned consultants to analyse the plans submitted by other member states. The results of this work will be made publicly available and will help inform our discussions with the Commission and other member states.

Environmental Campaigns

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much she expects the Government to spend on environmental campaigns in (a) 200405 and (b) 200506.

Elliot Morley: Defra provides funding to a number of bodies who will conduct campaigns on environmental issues between 200406 as part of their activities. These are shown in the following table. Figures represent overall income. Campaigns will be allocated funds from within these totals.
	
		 million
		
			  200405 200506 
		
		
			 Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) 57.521 75.709 
			 Environment Agency 870.2 944.9 
			 Energy Saving Trust 59 Not yet allocated 
			 Carbon Trust 24 Not yet allocated 
			 ENCAMS 3.542 3.542

Fallen Stock

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the new Fallen Stock Scheme is expected to commence; and what level of support it has achieved.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 21 May 2004
	As announced by the National Fallen Stock Company on 13 May, the Scheme is expected to commence in the autumn. It has the backing of the major farming unions and livestock organisations, but we will not know the level of support it has among farmers until the Scheme begins.

Fallen Stock

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the oral answer of 20 May 2004, Official Report, columns 107980, on fallen stock, if she will give guidance to local authorities on how to implement the EU Animal By-Products Regulations with a light touch before the national fallen stock scheme is in operation.

Ben Bradshaw: Guidance has already been provided to local authorities and a copy is available in the Library of the House.

Farm Subsidies

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of farms in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland which would be eligible for the post-transitional single farm payment would receive payments exceeding (i) 50,000, (ii) 75,000, (iii) 100,000, (iv) 125,000, (v) 150,000, (vi) 175,000, (vii) 200,000, (viii) 250,000 and (ix) 300,000 euros.

Alun Michael: Payment entitlements under the Single Payment Scheme in England and Northern Ireland will be allocated on the bases of eligible land declared in 2005. It is not possible to provide the information sought until all claims have been received and processed. Payment arrangements for Scotland and Wales are a matter for the devolved Administrations.

Farm Subsidies

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average subsidy payment in Cumbria was in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002.

Alun Michael: The following table represents the average subsidy payment to farmers in Cumbria from 1999 to 2002. These are European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) financial years which run from 16 October to 15 October.
	
		
			 EAGGF Year Average subsidy Number of claimants Value of payments 
		
		
			 1999(13) 6,134.41 4,540 27,850,196.65 
			 2000 12,219.08 5,113 62,476,159.75 
			 2001 12,149.86 5,171 62,826,951.00 
			 2002 9,567.28 5,055 48,362,622.32 
		
	
	(13)   The figures quoted for 1999 relate to the period from 1 March of that year when the Rural Payments Agency introduced its new accounting system.

Farm Subsidies

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) discussions she has had and (b) assessment she has made of future agricultural support payments in (i) uplands and (ii) severely disadvantaged areas.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had discussions with, and received representations from, a wide range of interests on the subject. As a result she made a written statement to the House on 22 April. Eligible farmers in the uplands and the severely disadvantaged areas will receive the single farm payment, and will continue to be eligible for other schemes such as the Hill Farm Allowance and agri-environment schemes (which are currently being reviewed). The need for assistance to these or other areas will need to be re-examined in the context of the new EU Rural Development Regulation which will come into effect in 2007, and the changing needs of sustainable development in the uplands.

Foot and Mouth

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the report on foot and mouth disease at the Waugh's farm by Mr. Jim Dring was (a) first received by her Ministers; and (b) first received by her.

Margaret Beckett: My Ministers and I were briefed about and had access to Mr. Dring's statement concerning the Waugh's farm in the week preceding our publication of his statement.

GM Feed

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the labelling requirements for (a) milk and (b) meat produced from animals fed on genetically modified feed.

Elliot Morley: Regulation (EC) 1829/2003 on genetically modified (GM) food and feed introduces new rules for the labelling of food and feed containing, consisting of, or produced from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Regulation took direct and full effect in Member States from 18 April 2004.
	There is no requirement under the new rules to label products such as milk or meat or eggs obtained from animals fed with GM feed as there is no GM material in these products to detect.

Heddon View Farm

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will define the extent of the processing premises at Heddon View;
	(2)  whether the premises designated for processing at Heddon View Farm were analogous to the premises designated by Mr. Jim Dring as direct contact.

Ben Bradshaw: The processing premises were in a self contained roofed building and were therefore compliant with the requirements in Schedule 5 of the Animal By-Products Order 1999. The processing premises at Heddon View were separate from the pig premises referred to as a direct contact by Jim Dring.

IACS Payments

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 April 2004, Official Report, column 1025W, to the hon. Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key), on Severely Disadvantaged Areas, what assessment she has made of the extent of non-receipt of integrated administration and control system forms; and how many farms have contacted the Rural Payments Agency to request forms.

Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency sent out replacement Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) forms to some 1,500 applicants approximately 2.2 per cent. of the total number of IACS applicants.

Psittacosis

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the cases of psittacosis confirmed in Sway in Hampshire in each year since 2000 and the actions taken by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: There have been four recorded cases of psittacosis in Sway, Hampshire since 2000:
	
		
			  Number of cases 
		
		
			 2000 0 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 1 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 (to date) 0 
		
	
	The veterinary surgeon submitting the samples was informed of the results of the examination carried out by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency Regional Laboratory and reminded that psittacosis is a zoonosis (infection transmissible between animals and man) and the public health implications for the owner.
	The public health authorities were informed and a visit was made to the premises in 2002 by a Veterinary Officer from the local Defra Animal Health Divisional Office to offer advice on the control of the disease.

Swill Feeding

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department carried out risk assessment on the feeding of swill to pigs prior to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001.

Ben Bradshaw: No. No formal risk assessment was carried out prior to the 2001 foot and mouth disease outbreak. Following the outbreak veterinary advice was that there was a risk from domestically produced meat because of the amount of virus in circulation.

Water Technologies

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many products have been approved for inclusion in the Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme for Water Technologies.

Margaret Beckett: The Water Technology Product List which lists all products that are eligible for inclusion in the scheme, was launched on 6 November 2003. Since the launch, 115 products have been approved for inclusion in the scheme.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Accident Surveillance

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department maintains the (a) Home Accidents Deaths Database, (b) the Home Accident Surveillance System and (c) the Leisure Accidents Surveillance System.

Gerry Sutcliffe: On 2 May 2003, my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Miss Johnson), the then Minister for Competition, Consumers and Markets, announced that the DTI will no longer collect statistics on the causes and nature of home and leisure accidents. Following increased pressure on resources and the need to focus on the Department's core priorities, hard decisions had to be made on what to stop. The Home Accident Surveillance System (HASS) and the Leisure Accidents Surveillance System (LASS) did not fit with these priorities.
	Data from HASS and LASS for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002 were published in December 2003. These systems are no longer maintained by DTI, and no further data have been collected beyond 2002. An inquiry service on HASS and LASS historic data up to and including 2002 is being provided by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) for a period of five years with effect from 1 January 2004.
	The Home Accidental Deaths Database held data up to and including 1995, and for similar reasons is no longer maintained by the Department. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects information about fatal accidents.

Coal Compensation Schemes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal compensation scheme claims have resulted in full and final settlements of less than (a) 1,000 and (b) 500.

Nigel Griffiths: As of 26 May 2004, the figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of settlements less than 1,000 Of which number of settlements less than 500 
		
		
			 COPD 26,281 11,867 
			 VWF 2,971 301

Coal Compensation Schemes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many coal compensation scheme claims have resulted in solicitors being paid more than claimants.

Nigel Griffiths: As of 26 May 2004, the figures are:
	
		
			  Number of settlements where solicitor costs exceed damages paid to claimant 
		
		
			 COPD 46,768 
			 VWF 2,655

Coal Compensation Schemes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been made to her since Easter about the possibility of minimum payments for coal compensation schemes.

Nigel Griffiths: The Claimants Representative Group advised the judge that they were looking at the possibility of a minimum payment arrangement for respiratory disease claims. The Department has received two letters from the Claimants Representative Group since Easter seeking background information on claims volumes. The subject has also been discussed at the regular Operation and Monitoring meetings between the parties. A formal proposal has not yet been submitted to the Department.

Nutritional Supplements

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations to EU Commission officials she has made on behalf of UK businesses in relation to plans for a draft Directive on nutritional supplements for sports competitors; and if she will make a statement.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 24 May 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health on 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1605W.

Post Office

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received in respect of the manner in which Post Office Ltd. is approaching the Urban Network Reinvention programme in Birmingham.

Stephen Timms: To date, we have received petitions, including those co-ordinated by the Birmingham Evening Mail, opposing all Post Office Ltd.'s proposals for sub post office closures in Birmingham. We have also received representations on the same basis from Birmingham city council. I discussed this with Councillor Albert Bore, the Leader of the Council, on 19 April 2004.
	It was inevitable that Post Office Ltd.'s restructuring of its network in urban areas would be controversial. The restructuring is, however, essential for future network viability. The Government regard it as most important that all communities have good access to postal services. At the end of Post Office Ltd.'s restructuring of the urban post office network, at least 95 per cent. of the urban population nationally will still live within one mile of their nearest post office.

Radioactive Waste

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 1781W, on radioactive waste, for what reason the review of Nirex is not yet complete.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	The review of Nirex, as announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 318W, has taken longer than anticipated. Officials are continuing to work on this and Ministers will announce a way forward in due course.

Renewable Energy

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what share of the overall energy supply in mainland Great Britain she expects will be supplied by renewable energy sources by the end of 2005;
	(2)  what share of the overall energy supply industry in Northern Ireland she expects will be supplied by renewable energy sources by the end of 2005.

Stephen Timms: The Department has made no such projections.

Retail Industry

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  if she will ask the Competition Commission to reopen its investigation into competition in the retail industry conducted in 2000;
	(2)  what research has been undertaken into the practice of below cost selling in the grocery industry since 2000;
	(3)  what plans she has to commission research into the impact of below cost selling in the UK retail industry.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Competition Commission investigation in 2000 did not look at the retail industry generally. It was a specific investigation into the supply of groceries from multiple stores. The Commission's report found that the practice of below cost selling, when carried out by companies with market power, did operate against the public interest but that remedies would be disproportionate to the adverse effect. The Commission therefore did not recommend any action in this regard.
	It is for the competition authorities to decide if a market investigation into the retail industry is now needed or if further research on below cost selling is required.

CABINET OFFICE

EU Regulation

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 30 April 2004, Official Report, column 1319W, on gold-plating, if he will list cases of unforeseen or undesired over-implementation identified by the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit, broken down by (a) the EU Directive, (b) the Department responsible for implementation and (c) the option taken that went beyond the minimum necessary to comply with the European Directive.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office guidance referred to in the original question states that
	Instances of gold-plating will need to be brought to the attention of the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit.
	In the context of the guidance, it is clear that what is being referred to is consultation during the course of policy development, rather than notification after the event. The Cabinet Office does not hold records of all the policy discussions which have taken place which have dealt with possible gold-plating.

EU Regulation

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) of 30 April 2004, Official Report, column 1319W, on gold-plating, if he will list the instances of the implementation of EU legislation where, due to exceptional reasons, it has been deemed necessary to over-implement Directives, broken down by (a) the EU Directive and (b) the Government Department responsible.

Douglas Alexander: One instance has been identified by the Cabinet Office since November 2001, when the provision of Tranposition Notes to Parliament became mandatory.
	The 2001 Money Laundering Directive required the UK to regulate
	auditors, external accountants and tax advisors . . . in the exercise of their professional activities.
	The UK implementing regulations (Money Laundering Regulations 2003) introduced by Her Majesty's Treasury, after extensive consultation, covered all those carrying out the activities of accountancy (including unaffiliated professionals) in order not to create loopholes for criminal activity.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on what date the International Committee of the Red Cross report on the treatment by Coalition forces of prisoners of war and other persons protected by the Geneva conventions during arrest, internment and interrogation in Iraq was received by the Office.

Douglas Alexander: Neither I nor officials in the Cabinet Office received this report of the International Committee of the Red Cross before it appeared in the public domain.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Internet Access

Michael Ancram: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission when the House authorities expect to install wireless internet access on the Parliamentary Estate.

Archy Kirkwood: The Information Committee makes recommendations on wireless access. I am sure that the Committee would be happy to receive views from hon. Members. The Parliamentary Communications Directorate is evaluating the technologies involved and assessing security issues.

Security

Eric Forth: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission who vouched for the person who, from the front of the security screen, threw a substance into the Chamber on 19 May.

Archy Kirkwood: The person who threw the substance into the Chamber on 19 May was present at the invitation of The Baroness Golding and I refer the right hon. Member to her personal statement of 19 May 2004, Official Report, House of Lords, column 777.

Security

Eric Forth: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission what analysis was carried out to ensure the non-toxicity of the substance thrown into the Chamber on 19 May before it was re-opened.

Archy Kirkwood: The analysis was made by explosives officers of the Metropolitan police using specialist equipment.

Security

Paul Marsden: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will make a statement on contingency plans for evacuating hon. Members from the House in the event of an emergency.

Archy Kirkwood: Contingency plans for the evacuation of the Chamber in an emergency are in place and these will be confirmed after the Whitsun recess.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Namibia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial assistance is being given to Namibia by the European Union in 200405.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The indicative allocation under the 9th replenishment of the European Development Fund amounts to 91 million to be committed over five years from 2002. Firm figures for planned disbursements in 200405 are not available.
	The focus of European Union assistance in Namibia is on poverty reduction, including rural development, education and HIV/AIDS. The Country Strategy Paper is published on the European Commission website www.europa.eu.int/comm/development

Administration Cost Savings

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what administration cost savings were achieved by his Department in each year since 1997, expressed (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the departmental budget; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Separate figures are not available for past efficiency improvements. DFID has however sought to promote efficiency, for example through internal Service Level Agreements. From financial years 199697 to 200203, the proportion of the development budget used for administration remained constant at 2.8 per cent. of the total programme, despite a significant widening of DFID's responsibilities in areas that do not entail significant programme spending.
	A new definition of administration costs was introduced during 200304 in order to manage operating costs more efficiently and increase transparency. This incorporated substantial charges previously paid from the programme budget. Under Resource Accounting, from 200304 the administration budget also incorporates capital charges previously accounted for separately. Between 200203 and 200506, costs under the new definitions will have fallen from 5.8 per cent. (197 million) to 5.1 per cent. (236 million) as a proportion of the programme.

Chad

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is providing to (a) the Government of Chad and (b) non-governmental organisations operating in Chad in relation to the humanitarian response to atrocities in Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID does not provide any assistance to the Government of Chad. DFID is gravely concerned about the situation in Darfur. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 120,000 refugees have fled to Chad from Darfur, and the UN estimates that over 1 million people are displaced within Darfur. The UK has committed 2 million to UNHCR for emergency assistance to refugees in Chad. DFID also contributes 19 per cent. of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)'s commitments to NGOs operating in Chad. (ECHO has committed over 4.5 million).

Comprehensive Spending Review

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what correspondence he has had in the last three months with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on (a) setting a firm timetable for spending 0.7 per cent. of GNI on development and (b) making provision for that level of spending in the 2004 Comprehensive Spending Review; what the outcome of those discussions was; and if he will place the correspondence in the Library.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: I am regularly in discussion with the Chancellor about a range of matters. In line with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (part 2, exemption 2) details of such confidential discussions are not normally disclosed.

Secondments

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many secondees there are from his Department in (a) Iraq, (b) Afghanistan, (c) India and (d) Tanzania; and what their (i) host agency and (ii) activity is in each case.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In Iraq four DFID staff have been seconded to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Southern Iraq, working in the areas of press and public information, essential infrastructure and the environment. In addition, DFID funds 59 secondee posts in CPA offices across Iraq. These posts are being filled on consultancy terms and cover a wide range of reconstruction related issues.
	In Afghanistan DFID has seconded one staff member to the World Bank as a governance and institutional development specialist, and in Tanzania one member of staff is working as Environmental Adviser to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
	DFID has no staff secondments in India. In line with most of DFID's programmes, we fund a wide range of consultancies at the request of the Government of India and State Governments. Currently there are 10 consultancies working for the Government of India.

St. Helena

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies he intends to pursue to (a) halt and (b) reverse the decline in population on St. Helena.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The decline in the island's population, and the problems associated with it, featured prominently in the recent discussions in St. Helena between the island government and a joint DFID/FCO mission. DFID is working with the St. Helenian authorities to address the causes and impacts. For example, a fiscal review is planned with the aim of stimulating growth in the island's private sector and encouraging inward investment. Measures have been introduced to offer some public service appointments on enhanced terms to encourage St. Helenians to stay in St. Helena or return there. DFID is also reviewing options for future physical access to and from the island.

St. Helena

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will assess the cost of maintaining St. Helena over the next 10 years.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID cannot make this assessment, as it would depend on a range of factors including major investment decisions, which we expect to address later this year, on future physical access arrangements. The background to this was reported in my written statement on 19 April 2004 Official Report, column 1WS. In addition, our assistance to St. Helena is set normally in three-year cycles which are negotiated with the island government in the light of anticipated needs and resources available. Discussions have taken place recently with the St. Helena authorities about our assistance for the island over the period 200405200607 inclusive. I expect to report on those discussions shortly.

Sudan

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance is being given to Sudan by the European Union in 200405.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The estimated disbursements from the European Development Fund for Sudan in 2004 is 14.3 million. Subject to a comprehensive peace agreement being signed in 2004 an indicative allocation of a further 150
	million may be available over the period to 2007.
	In addition further humanitarian assistance will be made available for Sudan through European Humanitarian Office (ECHO).
	DFID also understands that the European Community has committed 1.5 million to support the Peace Talks and the Verification Monitoring Team, which is responsible for investigating and reporting on breaches of the Memorandum of Understanding on the cessation of hostilities in southern Sudan. A further 475,000 has been made available in support of the Darfur peace talks.

Sudan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department (a) has taken in the past month and (b) plans to take in June in relation to the situation in Darfur, Sudan, broken down by type of action; and what funding has been allocated to each action.

Hilary Benn: In April 2004, I set aside an additional 10 million to be committed to agencies engaged in humanitarian relief in Darfur 1 . In the last month, DFID has committed funding to the following agencies.
	
		
			 Agency Type of activity Total commitment () 
		
		
			 OXFAM Public Health Humanitarian Response Darfur (Water/Sanitation Programme) 2,193,161 
			 WFP Emergency purchase and distribution of Food Aid for internally displaced Sudanese in Darfur. 2,000,000 
			 WHO Emergency primary health care and response to communicable diseases in Darfur; support to measles vaccination programme 1,500,000 
			 UNICEF Additional support to humanitarian assistance for crisis in Darfur; emergency nutrition; emergency health care and the protection of children 1,500,000 
			 UN Joint Logistics Centre Support to enable UNJLC to co-ordinate the logistics of an effective humanitarian response in Darfur 250,000 
		
	
	In addition to financial commitments in May, the UK has seconded three humanitarian experts to the UN Joint Logistics Centre in Darfur. DFID has also provided in-kind donations of non-food items (22,500 blankets and 15,000 plastic sheets) for distribution by humanitarian agencies.
	In June, DFID plans to continue committing the remainder of the 10 million to humanitarian agencies who are operational in Darfur and will continue to monitor the situation and keep the level of our response under review.
	In addition to DFID's provision of humanitarian assistance, I have also taken measures to secure access for humanitarian relief. The Foreign Secretary, the Minister for Africa and I all raised this subject with the Sudanese Foreign Minister during his recent visit to the United Kingdom, and the UK Special Representative and our Ambassador in Khartoum had further discussions with the Government on this issue last week. Later, on 20 May, the Sudanese Foreign Minister announced new measures governing the issue of visas and travel permits to humanitarian workers wishing to travel to Darfur.
	Since the ceasefire agreement at N'Djamena on 8 April, the UK has been in close contact with the parties and other members of the international community, including the African Union, to try and help set up the Ceasefire Commission Monitoring Mechanism set out in the 8 April agreement. I spoke to Said Djinnit, the Peace and Security Commissioner of the African Union, on 10 May, about the urgent need to get the team in place. DFID will provide swift and significant funding to enable a rapid deployment and are encouraging other donors to do the same.
	1 DFID commitment since October 2003 now total over 17.5 million

Sudan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is giving to alleviate the situation in (a) Sudan and (b) Chad.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has committed over 16.9 million to humanitarian agencies providing assistance to people affected by the situation in Darfur, Sudan, of which 3 million has been committed to agencies providing relief to the refugees who have fled into Eastern Chad. DFID has also contributed 19 per cent. of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)'s commitments to NGOs operating in Darfur and Eastern Chad. (ECHO has committed over 4.5 million).
	A breakdown of DFID commitments is given as follows.
	
		
			 Period Agency Description Total cost () 
		
		
			 October to December 2003 UNHCR Supplementary Appeal for Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad2003 1,000,000 
			 October 2003 to September 2004 SC-UK Emergency Response to Conflict Related Internal Displacement in North Darfur 500,000 
			 November to December 2003 ICRC Contribution to the ICRC 2003 Emergency Appeal for Sudan 1,000,000 
			 November 2003 to March 2004 WFP Additional Contribution to 2003 UN Appeal, due to Crisis in Darfur, to Provide Emergency Food Assistance to Sudanese Populations Affected by War and Natural Disasters 2,000,000 
			 January to April 2004 MSF-F Emergency Assistance to IDPs in Darfurthrough increasing access to health care in conflict areas, disease prevention, halting nutritional deterioration and treating malnourished children 491,369 
			 January to December 2004 MSF-H Darfur Components of Emergency Health Interventions in Northern Sudan Project 650,000 
			 February to December 2004 UNICEF Emergency Assistance to Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur for Health; Water Supply; Water and Environmental Sanitation; Relief and Shelter Items; and the Protection of Children 1,000,000 
			 February to November 2004 GOAL Emergency Assistance to Population in Kutum Province, North Darfurthrough a combined Health, Nutrition and Shelter Intervention 575,963 
			 March to December 2004 ACF Emergency Nutrition Programme in North Darfur 250,000 
			 March to December 2004 WFP Emergency Distribution of Food Aid Commodities to Sudanese Refugees in North East Chad 1,000,000 
			 March 2004 to January 2005 UNHCR Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad 1,000,000 
			 April 2004 to December 2004 OXFAM Public Health Humanitarian Response Darfur (Water/Sanitation Programme) 2,193,161 
			 May 2004 to December 2004 WFP Emergency purchase and distribution of Food Aid for internally displaced Sudanese in Darfur 2,000,000 
			 May 2004 to November 2004 WHO Emergency primary health care and response to communicable diseases in Darfur; support to measles vaccination programme 1,500,000 
			 May 2004 to December 2004 UNICEF Additional support to humanitarian assistance for crisis in Darfur; emergency nutrition; emergency health care and the protection of children 1,500,000 
			 May 2004 to July 2004 UN Joint Logistics Centre Support to enable UN Joint Logistics Centre to co-ordinate the logistics of an effective humanitarian response in Sudan 250,000 
			 Total   16,910,493 
		
	
	DFID has allocated 35 million for bilateral assistance to Sudan in 200405. This will be spent in the following areas:
	Life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian, recovery and reintegration assistance.
	Assistance for parties to implement the peace agreement including military/political arrangements and to build the consensus for peace more widely.
	Support for the development of an effective public administration, state security and judicial system throughout Sudan.
	Support for development and implementation of policies for poverty reduction.
	DFID does not have a bilateral programme in Chad.

Sudan

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action he has taken to secure access to Darfur for humanitarian relief; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 25 May 2004
	Pursuant to the response given to UIN 175839 on Wednesday 26 May.
	I remain deeply concerned about the grave situation in Darfur, western Sudan. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Minister for Africa (Chris Mullin) and I all registered our serious concerns about the humanitarian and human rights situation with the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, when he visited London on 11 May. The UK Special Representative and our Ambassador in Khartoum had further detailed discussions about Darfur with several Government Ministers and senior officials in Khartoum last week.
	I spoke to Mr. Ismail again on 20 May and he told me he had announced new measures governing the issue of visas and travel permits to humanitarian workers wishing to travel to Darfur. These new measures came into effect on 24 May and include the following: all visas for NGOs, donors, the ICRC, the UN and other humanitarian workers going to Darfur will be issued by Sudanese Embassies within 48 hours; visas will now last for three months rather than one; the requirement for permits to travel from Khartoum to Darfur has been cancellednotification of travel plans is now the sole requirement; unrestricted movement in Darfur is permitted, subject to UN security co-ordinating movements; a special customs officer will be appointed to facilitate the smooth movement of humanitarian freight.
	We welcomed this announcement, and have been monitoring its implementation closely. Initial indications are that these new procedures are working.
	Humanitarian needs in Darfur remain enormous. Over one million people are internally displaced and a further 120,000 have fled across the border into Chad. Their circumstances are precarious and are likely to worsen with the onset of rains in the region. The UK has committed over 17.5 million to humanitarian agencies working in Darfur and eastern Chad (see table). We are the second largest donor in Darfur after the US. Our commitments include 5 million agreed on 11 May to support WFP, WHO and UNICEF, as well as commitments in the last two weeks of 670,000 to MSF-Belgium for emergency health care in North Darfur and 250,000 for the UN Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC). We have also seconded seven humanitarian experts, four of whom are supporting OCHA in Khartoum and in Darfur and three of whom are working in UNJLC to improve the co-ordination of relief. In addition we have provided 15,000 plastic sheets and 22,500 blankets for distribution by agencies. We also contribute 19 per cent. of the cost of ECHO'S commitmentof 4.5 millionto NGOs working in Darfur and Chad. Despite our efforts, we are concerned that the recent UN appeal remains significantly under funded, and we are urging other donors to increase their contributions.
	The Sudanese Government can be in no doubt about the seriousness with which we view the situation. We have made it very clear that we expect the parties to implement fully the 8 April ceasefire agreement, including by ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access. Both parties must to put an end to all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The Sudanese Government must act now to rein in the Janjaweed militias who seem to be responsible for some of the worst atrocities.
	In terms of improving the security situation in Darfur, our priority remains rapid deployment of the African Union-led Ceasefire Monitoring Commission (CFC). To this end we are in almost daily contact with the AU through our Embassy in Addis Ababa, and with other members of the international community. The AU mission has now returned from its reconnaissance visit, and they are currently putting together an operational plan and outline budget. These will be discussed today by the Sudanese Government and opposition groups in Addis Ababa. We then plan to make a swift and significant contribution to the CFC and are encouraging other donors to do the same.
	The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has now issued its report on Darfur and the Security Council has been briefed on its contents. It identifies disturbing patterns of human rights violations in Darfur, including forced displacement, arbitrary killing of civilians, and rape, perpetrated by the Sudanese Government and its proxy militia, many of which may constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. Further urgent discussions are taking place on what action should now be taken in light of the report's recommendations. We, with our EU partners, have also made clear that all alleged attacks should be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. We are also in close contact with the OHCHR about Darfur, and are working to ensure that the Independent Expert, mandated by the 23 April Commission on Human Rights decision on Sudan, is appointed as soon as possible.
	The House will also want to be aware that on 26 May the Protocols on power-sharing and the three areas of the Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile and Abyei were signed at the Sudan peace talks in Naivasha, Kenya. The UK has played an important role in supporting the parties at the peace talks and was represented at the signing ceremony by our Special Representative for Sudan, Alan Goulty. The signing is a welcome and significant step towards a comprehensive peace agreement that will bring an end to decades of conflict in the south of Sudan.
	I will keep the House updated on developments.
	
		(14)UK government-funded humanitarian support in response to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan
		
			 Period Agency Description Total cost () 
		
		
			 October to December 2003 UNHCR Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad2003 1,000,000 
			 October 2003 to September 2004 SC-UK Related Internal Displacement in North Darfur 500,000 
			 November to December 2003 ICRC Contribution to the ICRC 2003 Emergency Appeal for Sudan 1,000,000 
			 November 2003 to March 2004 WFP Additional Contribution to 2003 UN Appeal, due to Crisis in Darfur, to Provide Emergency Food Assistance to Sudanese Populations Affected by War and Natural Disasters 2,000,000 
			 January to April 2004 MSF-F Emergency Assistance to IDPs in Darfurthrough increasing access to health care in conflict areas, disease prevention, halting nutritional deterioration and treating malnourished children 491,369 
			 January to December 2004 MSF-H Darfur Components of Emergency Health Interventions in Northern Sudan Project 650,000 
			 February to December 2004 UNICEF Emergency Assistance to Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur for Health; Water Supply; Water and Environmental Sanitation; Relief and Shelter Items; and the Protection of Children 1,000,000 
			 February to November 2004 GOAL Emergency Assistance to Population in Kutum Province, North Darfurthrough a combined Health, Nutrition and Shelter Intervention 575,963 
			 March to December 2004 ACF Emergency Nutrition Programme in North Darfur 250,000 
			 March to December 2004 WFP Emergency Distribution of Food Aid Commodities to Sudanese Refugees in North East Chad 1,000,000 
			 March 2004 to January 2005 UNHCR Emergency Assistance to Sudanese Refugees in Eastern Chad 1,000,000 
			 April 2004 to December 2004 OXFAM Public Health Humanitarian Response Darfur (Water/Sanitation Programme) 2,193,161 
			 May 2004 to December 2004 WFP Emergency purchase and distribution of Food Aid for internally displaced Sudanese in Darfur. 2,000,000 
			 May 2004 to November 2004 WHO Emergency primary health care and response to communicable diseases in Darfur; support to measles vaccination programme 1,500,000 
			 May 2004 to December 2004 UNICEF Additional support to humanitarian assistance for crisis in Darfur; emergency nutrition; emergency health care and the protection of children 1,500,000 
			 May 2004 to July 2004 UN Joint Logistics Centre Support to enable UNJLC to co-ordinate the logistics of an effective humanitarian response in Sudan 250,000 
			 May 2004 to October 2004 MSF-Belgium Emergency Health Care for IDPs in North Darfur 671,300 
			 Total   17,581,793 
		
	
	(14)   In addition we have also seconded four humanitarian officers to OCHA and three to the UN Joint Logistics Centre to work on Darfur.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Active Communities Unit

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total budget for expenditure by the Active Communities Unit on the voluntary sector (a) was for 200304 and (b) is for 200405.

Fiona Mactaggart: Last year, the work of the Active Community Unit was expanded to incorporate a Charities Unit and a Civil Renewal Unit in a new Active Communities Directorate. Through the Active Communities Directorate, the Home Office aims to build strong, thriving communities where everyone, regardless of age, race or social background has a stake in society.
	The overall budgets for expenditure on active communities for financial years 200304, and planned for 200405, rounded to the nearest million pounds, is as follows:
	
		 million
		
			  SR settlement Futurebuilders fund 
		
		
			 200304 81 10 
			 200405 84 57 
		
	
	The figures show allocations for the Directorate based on the Department's Spending Review 2002 settlement. In addition, the futurebuilders fund is shown, which is being distributed by an independent provider under contract to the Home Office.

Anti-crime Initiatives

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public funds were spent on tackling drugs misuse in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood in (a) 199798 and (b) 200304.

Caroline Flint: Breakdown of financial allocation to local constituencies is not available to the Home Office. Funding is allocated to Drug Action Team (DAT) areas, in this case Blackpool DAT.
	The period 199798 pre-dates National Drug Strategy, during this time the primary care trust (PCT) allocated funding for tackling drug misuse. The 199798 figure reported to us by Blackpool PCT is 198,776 which covered Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre (all within the health authority boundaries at the time).
	In 200304 the total drugs allocation for Blackpool was 1,174,983. In order to ensure consistency figures supplied are based on funding streams associated with the National Drug Strategy and are readily verifiable. These funding streams are specifically targeted at tackling the harm caused to individuals, families and communities by the misuse of drugs. Other mainstream funding is made available at a local level, and this varies both in amount and origin so, as a result it is not possible to provide robust financial information.
	
		
			  200304 () 
		
		
			 Partnership Capacity 66,872 
			 Treatment Pooled Budget 740,000 
			 Through Care After Care Pump Priming 35,000 
			 Building Safer Communities(15) 207,193 
			 Young people 125,918 
			 Total 1,174,983 
		
	
	(15)   Contains non-drug elements.

Anti-crime Initiatives

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public funding has been spent on CCTV security cameras in Bootle since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Since 1997, the Home Office has provided 132,623 to Bootle for CCTV schemes.
	Allocation of that funding locally is a matter for Bootle council and Merseyside police. The information is not held centrally.

Anti-crime Initiatives

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public funds were spent on tackling drugs misuse in Bootle in (a) 199798 and (b) 200304.

Caroline Flint: Breakdown of financial allocation to local constituencies is not available in the form requested as funding is allocated to Drug Action Team (DAT) area (Sefton DAT).
	199798 Sefton drugs allocation was as follows:
	
		
			  199798 () 
		
		
			 Local Health Authority Block contracts 728,671 
			 JMU Database 20,000 
			 Pharmacy costs 100,000 
			 Social Work team 100,000 
			 Drug Misuse special allocation from DoH 374,000 
		
	
	In 200304 the total drugs allocation for Sefton DAT was 2,142,399. In order to ensure consistency figures supplied are based on funding streams associated with the National Drug Strategy and are readily verifiable. These funding streams are specifically targeted at tackling the harm caused to individuals, families and communities by the misuse of drugs. Other mainstream funding is made available at a local level, this varies both in amount and origin so as a result it is not possible to provide robust financial information.
	
		
			  200304 () 
		
		
			 Partnership Capacity 71,500 
			 Treatment Pooled Budget 1,336,000 
			 Through Care After Care Pump Priming 35,000 
			 Building Safer Communities(16) 484,700 
			 Young People 215,199 
			 Total 2,142,399 
		
	
	(16) Contains non-drug elements.

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many anti-social behaviour orders have been used in Lancashire, broken down by district;
	(2)  how many anti-social behaviour orders are awaiting decisions in Lancashire, broken down by district;
	(3)  how many anti-social behaviour orders have resulted in a custodial sentence in Lancashire, broken down by district.

Hazel Blears: Information is given in Table A on the number of applications for anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) in Lancashire, by result, and local authority area, up to 31 December 2003 (latest available).
	Data are not collected centrally on the status of orders currently being processed.
	ASBOs are civil orders introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and do not of themselves result in a custodial sentence. Breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence and a custodial sentence may result following conviction. Information on breaches of ASBOs are compiled from data reported on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. Available information for ASBOs breached in Lancashire is given in Table B.
	
		Table A: The number of ASBOs, as notified to the Home Office by all courts within Lancashire, by local authority area and result, 1April 1999 to 31December 2003
		
			 Local authority area Total issued Total refused 
		
		
			 Lancashire 72 0 
			 of which:   
			 from 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 by pfa 5 0 
			 from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 by local authority area 67 0 
			 Blackburn with Darwen BC 3 0 
			 Blackpool BC 10 0 
			 Burnley BC 17 0 
			 Chorley BC 5 0 
			 Fylde BC 3 0 
			 Hyndburn BC 4 0 
			 Lancaster CC 2 0 
			 Oswaldtwistle 1 0 
			 Pendle BC 3 0 
			 Preston BC 5 0 
			 Ribble Valley BC 1 0 
			 Rossendale BC 9 0 
			 South Ribble BC 1 0 
			 West Lancashire DC 2 0 
			 Wyre BC 1 0 
		
	
	Note:
	Between 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data available by police force area (pfa) only.
	
		Table B: ASBOs breached in Lancashire, by type of sentence imposed and period, from 1June 2000 to 31December 2002(17),England and Wales
		
			  Type of sentence imposed for breach of ASBO 
			  Immediate custody 
			 Period (by appearance date) Unsuspended imprisonment Detention in a young offender institution Detention and training orders Other Total 
		
		
			 1 June to 31 December 2000  
			 1 January to 31 December 2001 2 1  3 6 
			 1 January to 31 December 2002 2 1 2 2 7 
			 Total 4 2 2 5 13 
		
	
	(17)   Breach data are compiled from breaches reported on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. Data for 2003 will be available in the autumn.
	Note:
	Individuals breaching their ASBO more than once in the same year are counted only once for that year, based on the principal disposal (severest penalty imposed). Individuals breaching more than once, but in different years, are counted separately for each year.

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children and young people who have broken anti-social behaviour orders are in (a) local authority secure units, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offender institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Information on breaches of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) are compiled from data reported on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. We are unable to tell the number of offenders currently held for breach of an ASBO in local authority secure units or secure training centres. The number of offenders sentenced to a period of detention in young offender institutions for a breach of an ASBO, for the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2002, is shown in the table, together with other sentences imposed. Breach data for 2003 will be available in the autumn.
	
		ASBOs breached by persons aged 10 to 20 years, by type of sentence imposed and period, from 1June 2000 to 31December 2002(18)
		
			 Period (by appearance date) Detention in a Young Offender Institution(19) Detention and Training Orders(20) Other Total 
		
		
			 1 June to 31 December 2000  4 5 9 
			 1 January to 31 December 2001 13 24 44 81 
			 1 January to 31 December 2002 25 53 103 181 
			 Total 38 81 152 271 
		
	
	(18)   Breach data are compiled from breaches reported on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. Data for 2003 will be available in the autumn.
	(19)   Persons aged 18 to 20 years.
	(20)   Persons aged 10 to 17 years. Offenders may be sent to a local authority secure unit, secure training centre or (over 15 years of age), to a young offender institution.
	Note:
	Individuals breaching their ASBO more than once in the same year are counted only once for that year, based on the principal disposal (severest penalty imposed). Individuals breaching more than once, but in different years, are counted separately for each year.

Bribery/Corruption

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) legislative and (b) administrative arrangements need to be made by the United Kingdom Government in order to meet its obligations under the UN Convention Against Corruption; and when the Government intend to ratify the UN Convention.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	Legislation is required to comply fully with the convention's requirements in Article 52, on prevention and detection of transfers of the proceeds of crime; Article 53, on the confiscation and repatriation of assets; and Article 55, on the forfeiture of the instrumentalities of crime.
	Primary legislation is required to comply with Article 55. Secondary legislation, under part 11 of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002, is needed to comply with Article 53.
	Secondary legislation will also be required to comply with Article 52. Measures dealing with the requirements of Article 52 are likely to be included in the EU Third Money Laundering Directive. Our current expectation is that negotiations on the directive will be completed by the first part of next year and we would seek to implement it in the UK through secondary legislation, as soon as we reasonably could thereafter.
	The Government are also considering what, if any, administrative arrangements need to be made to enable the UK to meet its obligations under the convention.
	The Government will seek to implement legislation and other measures at the earliest possible opportunity. We intend to ratify the convention as soon as we are satisfied that the UK can comply fully with its obligations under it.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 26 January 2004, with regard to Mosamma Meherun Nessa Begum, transferred to him by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
	(2)  when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 26 January 2004, with regard to Mosamma Meherun Nessa Begum, transferred to him from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 May 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 29 March 2004, with regard to Henry Morgan Crowe.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 11 May 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 5 April 2004, with regard to Alfred Kaland.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 11 May 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 14 April with regard to Muhammad Rafique.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 27 May 2004.

Domestic Violence

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported cases involving domestic violence there were in England and Wales in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: Domestic violence is not separately identified in the recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office nor in the statistics of court proceedings, because the circumstances of the offences are not collected.
	However, the British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely collects data on the prevalence and number of incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales from the main face-to-face part of the survey. In the 200203 BCS there were an estimated 501,000 incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales as a whole. 35 per cent. of these cases were reported to the police.

E-crime

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public funding has been spent on the e-crime strategy since it was introduced.

Caroline Flint: The e-crime strategy will look to provide a framework for Government, law enforcement and industry action in response to e-crime, seeking to outline current legislation, policy and practice, as well as addressing current questions and advancing and informing the debate on longer-term issues.
	However the strategy has not been published as yet. Officials continue to work to bring the strategy together and it will be published soon.

EU Enlargement

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from EU accession countries arrived at UK international (a) airports and (b) bus stations on the first week of May.

Des Browne: Since 1 May, members of the EU accession countries are subject to the same immigration controls as citizens of other EU member states. We are therefore not able to say how many passengers arrived from EU accession countries. Data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS), showing the total number of visits by nationals of all the EU accession countries in May, will be available early in July.

Air Guns

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the level of enforcement of penalties in cases of air gun misuse.

Caroline Flint: The information given in the table relates to persons who were proceeded against at magistrates courts in 2002 for offences under the Firearms Acts where an air weapon was involved and relates to the principal offence for which they were prosecuted. It is not possible to identify from the statistics of court proceedings collected centrally other offences where an air weapon is used in the commission of a crime. Comparative statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will not be available until the autumn.
	
		
			 Offence description Statute Persons proceeded  against Persons found guilty Persons sentenced Absolute/ conditional discharge Fine 
		
		
			 Possession of air weapon with intent to endanger life Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 16 32 3 3   
			
			 Using air weapons or imitation air weapons to resist arrest Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 17(1)  
			
			 Possessing air weapon or imitation air weapon at time of committing or being arrested for an offence specified in schedule 1 of the Act Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 17(2) 32 
			
			 Possessing air weapon or imitation air weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence or resist arrest Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 18(1) 11 1 1   
			
			 Possessing of a air weapon or imitation air weapon with intent to cause fear of violence Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 16A (as amended by Firearms (Amendment) Act 1994) 127 25 25 2  
			
			 Possession of air weapon by persons previously convicted of crime Firearms Act 1968 Section 21 (4) as amended by the Criminal Justice  Public Act 1994, Sec 157 Sch. 8 part III. 57 35 36 9 8 
			
			 Supplying air weapon to person denied them under Section 21 Ibid Section 21(5) as amended by the Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994, Sec 157 Sch. 8 part III.  
			
			 Carrying loaded air weapon in public place etc. Ibid Section 19 186 137 137 41 45 
			 Trespassing with air weapon in a building Ibid Section 20(1) 2 1 1 1  
			 Trespassing with air weapon on land Ibid Section 20(2) 32 23 23 8 12 
			 Person under 17 acquiring air weapon Ibid Section 22(1).  
			 Person under 14 having with him an air weapon or ammunition therefor Ibid Section 22(4) 7 5 5 1  
			
			 Person under 17 having with him an air weapon in a public place Ibid Section 22(5) 51 41 41 14 5 
			
			 Person under 14 making improper use of air weapon when under supervision Ibid Section 23(1) 1 
			
			 Person supervising person under 14, permitting improper use of air weapon Ibid Section 23(1).  
			
			 Selling or letting on hire an air weapon to person under 17 Ibid Section 24(1)  
			
			 Supplying air weapon to person under 14 Ibid Section 24(4) 2 2 2 1 1 
			 Supplying air weapon to person drunk or insane Ibid Section 25  
			 Failure to hand over air weapon or ammunition or demand by constable Ibid Section 47(2)  
			
			 Total  540 273 274 77 71 
		
	
	
		
			 Offence description Statute  Average fine amount ()Community penaltyImmediate custody Average custodial sentence length (months)Otherwise dealt with 
		
		
			 Possession of air weapon with intent to endanger life Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 16  2 1 6.0  
			
			 Using air weapons or imitation air weapons to resist arrest Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 17(1)  
			
			 Possessing air weapon or imitation air weapon at time of committing or being arrested for an offence specified in schedule 1 of the Act Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 17(2)  
			
			 Possessing air weapon or imitation air weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence or resist arrest Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 18(1) 1 
			
			 Possessing of a air weapon or imitation air weapon with intent to cause fear of violence Firearms Act, 1968 Sec 16A (as amended by Firearms (Amendment) Act 1994)  16 7 15.3  
			
			 Possession of air weapon by persons previously convicted of crime Firearms Act 1968 Section 21 (4) as amended by the Criminal Justice  Public Act 1994, Sec 157 Sch. 8 part III. 138 12 5 7.0 2 
			
			 Supplying air weapon to person denied them under Section 21 Ibid Section 21(5) as amended by the Criminal Justice  Public Order Act 1994, Sec 157 Sch. 8 part III.  
			
			 Carrying loaded air weapon in public place etc. Ibid Section 19 96 47 3 2.3 1 
			 Trespassing with air weapon in a building Ibid Section 20(1)  
			 Trespassing with air weapon on land Ibid Section 20(2) 112 2 1 4.0  
			 Person under 17 acquiring air weapon Ibid Section 22(1).  
			 Person under 14 having with him an air weapon or ammunition therefor Ibid Section 22(4)  4
			
			 Person under 17 having with him an air weapon in a public place Ibid Section 22(5) 49 21   1 
			
			 Person under 14 making improper use of air weapon when under supervision Ibid Section 23(1)  
			
			 Person supervising person under 14, permitting improper use of air weapon Ibid Section 23(1).  
			
			 Selling or letting on hire an air weapon to person under 17 Ibid Section 24(1)  
			
			 Supplying air weapon to person under 14 Ibid Section 24(4) 300 
			 Supplying air weapon to person drunk or insane Ibid Section 25  
			 Failure to hand over air weapon or ammunition or demand by constable Ibid Section 47(2)  
			
			 Total  103 104 17 9.4 5

Leyhill Prison

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 25 February 2004, Official Report, column 435W, if he will make a statement on the conclusions and recommendations of the investigation report; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Paul Goggins: I wrote to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 8 March 2004 and placed a copy of the letter in the Library.

Neighbourhood Watch Logo

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who owns the Neighbourhood Watch logo.

Hazel Blears: The neighbourhood watch logo was designed by the Central Office of Information in 1994 on behalf of the Home Office, and is therefore Crown Copyright.
	As a result of complaints from local neighbourhood watches it recently came to light that in early 2003 the National Neighbourhood Watch Association (NNWA) registered the Neighbourhood Watch logo as its own trademark. This was done without consulting the Home Office, the Police or neighbourhood watch generally.
	We are taking steps to resolve the situation with NNWA and to restore ownership and control of the Neighbourhood Watch trademarks to the Home Office.

Number Plate Recognition Technology

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will list the 10 prosecutions that have resulted from automatic number plate recognition technology that have led to the highest value of drug seizures;
	(2)how many and what types of prosecution have resulted from cars being stopped by automatic number plate recognition cameras in North Wales since their introduction;
	(3)how many prosecutions have led to prison sentences as a result of the use of automatic number plate recognition technology;
	(4)how many cars were stopped by automatic number plate recognition technology in each police authority area since their introduction.

Hazel Blears: Data listing the 10 prosecutions that resulted from vehicles being stopped by Automatic Name Plate Recognition (ANPR) dedicated police intercept teams that led to the highest value of drug seizures are not held centrally. However, between 1 June 2003 and 16 May 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, the following number of arrests carried out by the 23 police forces involved in ANPR Project Laser Two for drug-related offences, were as follows:
	
		
			  ANPR drug-related arrests 
		
		
			 Number of arrests 1,082 
			 Number of occasions 686 
			 Value of drugs recovered () 432,124.00 
		
	
	The table gives a breakdown of the number and type of arrest made as a result of vehicles being stopped by the North Wales police ANPR intercept teams between 1 June 2003 and 16 May 2004:
	
		Arrest breakdown
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Robbery 2 
			 Theft/burglary 75 
			 Driving 249 
			 Drugs 182 
			 S25 112 
			 Auto Crime 51 
			 Warrant 53 
			 Other 57 
		
	
	Details of how many prosecutions led to prison sentences as a result of ANPR are not held centrally.
	Data on the number of vehicles stopped by ANPR in each police authority area since its introduction are not held centrally. The number of vehicles stopped in each of the 23 ANPR Project Laser Two police forces between 1 June 2003 and 16 May 2004, the latest date for which figures are available, were as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 5,692 
			 Cambridgeshire 7,818 
			 City of London 4,871 
			 Cleveland 2,317 
			 Greater Manchester police 14,612 
			 Hampshire 5,767 
			 Hertfordshire 4,911 
			 Kent 9,896 
			 Lancashire 10,596 
			 Leicestershire 9,233 
			 Lincolnshire 10,303 
			 Merseyside 6,431 
			 Metropolitan 17,435 
			 Northamptonshire 6,688 
			 Northumbria 3,731 
			 North Wales 10,227 
			 North Yorkshire 4,214 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,532 
			 Staffordshire 5,078 
			 Warwickshire 4,503 
			 West Midlands 7,247 
			 West Yorkshire 8,322

Police Patrols (Bicycles)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 May to the hon. Member for Southend, West, reference 172570, which police forces use bicycles while patrolling; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of police forces who use bicycles while patrolling is not collected centrally. The deployment of officers patrolling on bicycles is an operational matter for the Chief Constable and will vary among each force.

Police Training

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect the planned reduction of posts at Centrex will have on the provision of Stage 2 probationer training.

Hazel Blears: Delivery of Stage 2 probationer training remains a priority. The reduction in training staff is a consequence of reduced demand for places from police forces: the ratio of trainer to probationer students remains the same. The planned reduction in police support staff numbers will be achieved by a thorough review of administrative processes with a view to making efficiency savings.
	All changes have been made in consultation with key stakeholders, who are content that the approach taken will not impact negatively on the quality of Stage 2 probationer training.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Crown Prosecution Service

Julie Morgan: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans she has for the Crown Prosecution Service to improve public awareness of its work.

Harriet Harman: Public awareness of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service is being improved by prosecutors talking about their work, for example in local schools and at local community meetings

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Tax

Jim Knight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 20 May 2004, Official Report, columns 114041W, on council tax, what public consultation will take place on council tax revaluation, with particular reference to consultation between the Government and mobile home users.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not yet finalised the detailed arrangements for public consultation on the 2007 council tax revaluation.

Council Tax

Steve Webb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to introduce council tax for (a) static holiday caravans and (b) touring caravans.

Nick Raynsford: Council tax liability arises only in respect of domestic property and is based upon the identification of a chargeable dwelling. Caravans are not in themselves subject to council tax, but liability may arise in respect of the land on which the caravan stands. If a caravan remains on private land for a period of at least six months, the listing officer may include an entry in the valuation list for council tax purposes. If the caravan is being used for holiday letting for more than 140 days a year, then it will be subject to non-domestic rates rather than council tax. The Government have no plans to amend legislation on this matter.

Housing Pathfinder Scheme

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) in total and (b) per council property is to be made available to Hull under his Pathfinder scheme (i) this year and (ii) in each of the next three years; when the money will start to be paid; and whether there has been a delay in payment.

Keith Hill: Allocation of Housing Market Renewal funding to the Hull and East Riding Market Renewal pathfinder is subject to the pathfinder demonstrating that it has satisfactory arrangements in place to develop a strategic market renewal scheme and to the approval of that scheme once submitted. Following an overhaul by the pathfinder of its governance arrangements and the preparation of a revised work programme, the pathfinder has been informed that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is prepared to enter into a grant agreement that will provide funds to facilitate scheme development.
	The Pathfinder's target date for submission of its strategic scheme is the end of September 2004. Allocation of Housing Market Renewal funding for the scheme, along with the amount and timing of any allocation and the programme of work supported, will be dependent on submission of the scheme and it's subsequent assessment by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and independent scrutiny by the Audit Commission.

Local Government Finance

David Rendel: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list for (a) 200304 and (b) 200405 the local authorities for which a funding (i) ceiling and (ii) floor has been imposed;
	(2)if he will list for each local authority for which a ceiling has been imposed (a) the grant calculated by the funding formula and (b) the grant actually received in real terms figures for (i) 200304 and (ii) 200405; and what the difference was in each case, expressed as a percentage of the local authority's council tax intake.

Nick Raynsford: Two tables have been made available in the Library of the House showing the floor and ceiling classification of all authorities for 200304 and 200405 respectively, together with their formula grant before floors and ceilings, their formula grant after floors and ceilings, the difference, their council tax yield and the difference expressed as a percentage of the council tax yield.
	It should be noted that ceilings do not fully meet the cost of the floor; therefore a scaling factor was applied to that portion of the grant increase above the level of the floor for all non-floor/non-ceiling authorities.
	In 200405, there were no effective ceilings for both the shire district and police authority groups; the floors were funded entirely via the scaling factor.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his oral answer of 19 May 2004, Official Report, columns 96869, on regional assemblies, what the evidential basis was for the figure given for the cost of answering the hon. Member for North Essex's written questions relating to the Government's information campaign on elected regional assemblies; and what the (a) total projected cost and (b) the cost to date of that campaign is.

Nick Raynsford: Since January 2004 to date, the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) has asked 60 questions on issues related to elected regional assemblies, including the information campaign. The average cost of answering a parliamentary question, as calculated by Her Majesty's Treasury, is 135. This gives a total of 8,100.
	For the total projected cost of the information campaign and its breakdown, I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 19 April 2004, Official Report, column 366W. To date, the Government have spent just under 700,000.

Retained Firefighters

Mark Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many retained firefighters have been in service during each of the last four years.

Phil Hope: The information requested is as follows.
	
		Retained firefighters in post, England and Wales, 200003l
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 14,698 
			 2001 14,832 
			 2002 14,719 
			 2003 14,776 
		
	
	(21) Data refer to retained workforce as at 31 March of each year

Retained Firefighters

Mark Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to help in the recruitment of more retained firefighters.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has set up a review team to examine the issues which contribute to the challenges facing the fire and rescue service in the recruitment and retention of retained firefighters. The review team, a partnership between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and key service stakeholders, will submit its full report, with recommendations, to the Practitioners' Forum in July 2004.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also sponsored the production of a public information video, highlighting the role of retained firefighters. This video was distributed to fire and rescue services this month for use as part of their community information programmes and as a recruitment tool.
	Additionally, we have produced a new range of recruitment literature which will be launched in the summer for fire and rescue services to use in their retained recruitment campaigns.

Retained Firefighters

Mark Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will extend the key worker definition to include (a) firefighters and (b) retained firefighters for the purposes of the affordable housing initiative.

Keith Hill: In the Fire Service, the Key Worker Living (KWL) programme is assisting whole-time junior officers and retained firefighters (all grades) to tackle recruitment and retention difficulties linked to housing issues experienced by these groups in London, the South East and Eastern Regions. Based on current evidence, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to extend the assistance to whole-time firefighters.

Rights of Way

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the navigability of rights of way; and what measures he plans to improve it.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	The Countryside Agency rights of way condition survey in England in 2000, found between 87 and 89 per cent. of routes usable by walkers, cyclists and horse riders. In addition, the statutory best value performance management framework requires local highway authorities to measure the ease of use of their rights of way, by carrying out annual surveys and reporting against their rights of way performance indicator.
	The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 requires local highway authorities to prepare rights of way improvement plans. These plans encourage highway authorities to take a strategic look at their rights of way network, with a view to accommodating modern patterns of demand and use and providing better for the needs of users. The Government have provided additional funding to enable the preparation of these plans.

TRANSPORT

Transport (Serious Emergency)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how well developed Government plans are to deal with a serious emergency in the London Underground.

Tony McNulty: Through the London Resilience partnership, the Government are working closely with London Underground, Transport for London, British Transport Police and the other emergency services to ensure that London's front-line responders are as well prepared as possible to deal with a serious emergency on the underground. This work is building on tried and tested emergency response procedures and practice developed by London Underground and the emergency services through thirty years of coping directly with terrorist alerts and other emergencies on the underground network. Over the past two and a half years, a number of steps have been takenand continue to be takento strengthen further this emergency response capacity. These include the provision of new equipment to the emergency services, ongoing verbal and written briefings to London Underground staff and a continuing programme of training and exercises.

Transport (Serious Emergency)

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of whether London Underground lines could be evacuated successfully in the event of a serious disruption to the electricity supply of the London Underground.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for London Underground, but during last August's power failure all passengers were safely evacuated following well-established procedures. Although not needed last August, LU has back up generators that provide sufficient power for essential equipment, including tunnel and additional station lights that enable the safe evacuation of trains trapped between stations.
	London Underground has well established procedures for investigating any incident and how it was handled. LU published a report in December on the August power failure and has revised its procedures for evacuating trains, as well as improving familiarity with how to restore services following a power failure and has acted to reduce the risk of a similar incident.

British Transport Police

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport Police officers there were in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The British Transport Police (BTP) does not deploy its officers by borough due to the nature of policing the rail network in London. In London and the south east the numbers of police officers were:
	
		
			  Police Specials Total 
		
		
			 1997 1,148 0 1,148 
			 1998 1,125 0 1,125 
			 1999 1,123 1 1,124 
			 2000 1,100 25 1,125 
			 2001 1,125 31 1,156 
			 2002 1,181 50 1,231 
			 2003 1,250 79 1,329 
			 2004 1,315 123 1,438

Bus Services (Cambridgeshire)

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is his policy that part of the capital cost of the proposed guided bus scheme should be paid by way of loan money raised by Cambridgeshire county council.

Tony McNulty: Yes. The proposed Cambridge to Huntingdon Rapid Transit Guided Busway has been provisionally accepted for funding through Cambridgeshire county council's local transport plan settlement. As is usual with such major schemes (i.e. those costing more than 5 million) the funding will comprise 50 per cent. grant and 50 per cent. supported borrowing.

Car Sharing

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the total reduction in vehicle kilometres that would result from a (a) 10 per cent., (b) 20 per cent. and (c) 50 per cent. increase in average vehicle occupancy.

Tony McNulty: It is estimated that the decrease in vehicle kilometres for cars, taxis and vans as a result of an increase in vehicle occupancy would be as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage increase in vehicle occupancy 
			  10 20 50 
		
		
			 Resultant percentage change in vehicle kilometres -9 -17 -33 
			 
			 Vehicle kilometres by cars, taxis and vans (billion) 
			 Current (2002) 447 447 447 
			 Following decrease in occupancy 407 373 298 
			 Change -41 -75 -149 
		
	
	This assumes that the occupancy increase is a result of increased trip sharing and therefore fewer trips, and not, for example, from a shift of passengers from other modes of transport. It is also assumed that an increase in occupancy does not result in an increase in trip length (i.e. passenger kilometre figures stay fixed).

Child Cyclist Accidents

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children were (a) injured and (b) killed while riding their bicycles in 2003 in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) England.

Kim Howells: The latest year for which information is available is 2002. The numbers of children (015) killed or injured in road accidents while riding their pedal cycles in 2002 in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) England, are shown in the following table.
	The first release of figures for 2003 will be on 24 June 2004.
	
		
			  Shrewsbury and Atcham England 
		
		
			 Killed 0 21 
			 Injured 19 4,198

Container Ports

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what factors he takes into account when considering applications for future container port development.

Alistair Darling: I consider the full range of factors that emerge from the inspector's reports on the public inquiry into each application.

Crossrail

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed ventilation duct due to be built at Stamford Brook Common as part of the Crossrail development on (a) residents and (b) local air quality in Brentford and Isleworth.

Tony McNulty: Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRL) is continuing to develop its Crossrail proposals. Assessments of environmental impact form an important part of CLRL's work, and should the section of route affecting Brentford and Isleworth be confirmed, the interests of people living and working there will form part of that assessment.

Crossrail

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the Crossrail development.

Tony McNulty: The Secretary of State has received representations on Crossrail from a number of stakeholders, including in particular the representatives of London's business interests, who have expressed their continuing support for the proposals. He has also received representations from residents along the route proposed by Cross London Rail Links Ltd.

Departmental Annual Report

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many of the new vehicles that came into service on the railways as described on page 10 of The Department of Transport Annual Report 2004 have since been withdrawn for periods of more than three weeks;
	(2)  how many vehicles that have entered service on the railways have subsequently been withdrawn for periods of three weeks or more in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information is not available in the form requested. There have been cases where faults on individual trains have led to their removal from service for varying periods. Trains may also be taken out of service for periods of three weeks or more to allow for planned heavy maintenance. Among the new trains introduced since 1997, however, there is no case in which an entire fleet, or a significant part of one, has entered passenger service but is currently out of use.

Driving Licences

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many driving licence applications were returned in 2003 for being incorrectly completed; and what proportion of the total number of applications this represents.

Tony McNulty: During the financial year 200304, 9.8 per cent. of applications for driving licences were incorrectly completed and returned to customers. 6.6 million driving licences were issued in the same period.

Equal Pay

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the pay gap between men and women employed by his Department and its agencies in (a) Southampton, (b) Eastleigh, (c) Winchester and (d) Romsey.

Tony McNulty: The Central Department for Transport and its Agencies with staff in Southampton and the surrounding area individually carried out equal pay reviews in 2003, which included the pay gap between men and women. Although some pay gaps were identified, these can be explained and are justifiable. Action plans are in place to reduce the gaps even further.

Import/Export Costs

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the annual cost of transhipment of (a) consumer goods and raw materials imported into the UK and (b) manufactured goods exported from the UK.

Alistair Darling: None. Data collected in accordance with the EC Maritime Statistics Directive does not enable us to calculate the volumes transhipped via foreign or other UK ports, nor any extra costs to shippers that might arise.

Light Rail (Blackpool)

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the need for social inclusion benefits in the criteria for assessment of the Blackpool Light Rail bid in the light of the National Audit Office Report, Improving Public Transport in England through light rail.

Tony McNulty: Social inclusion benefits are already taken into account in the Department's value for money assessments.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles his Department estimates will be using liquefied petroleum gas fuel by 2008; and what estimate he has made of the contribution these vehicles will make to a reduction in road transport emissions.

Alistair Darling: The Government directly support the use of more environmentally friendly fuels through reduced fuel duty rates. These fuels include liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed or liquefied natural gas, biodiesel and low and zero sulphur petrol and diesel.
	Further, the Government encourage the use of cleaner vehicles through reduced vehicle excise duty rates based on vehicle emissions (which are zero for electric vehicles) and reduced levels of company car tax for low emission vehicles. Purchase grants are available under the PowerShift programme for hybrid, electric, LPG and natural gas vehicles. In addition, hydrogen vehicles are supported under the New Vehicle Technology Fund and the fitting of emission abatement equipment is incentivised through the CleanUp programme.
	According to the LPG Association, there are currently some 107,000 LPG vehicles licensed in the UKan increase from around 39,000 LPG vehicles in 2000. We expect this number to continue to rise, but we have no firm estimates for vehicle numbers in 2008.
	Good quality LPG vehicles can offer a number of environmental advantages, particularly where they are used in place of diesel vehicles in urban areas. The precise nature of these benefits will depend on where the vehicles are used and what type of vehicles they are replacing and as such we have no firm estimates for emissions reductions resulting from the use of LPG vehicles in 2008.

M6

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) cars, (b) vans and (c) lorries on average use the M6 toll road each day.

Tony McNulty: Since the opening of the M6 Toll in December 2003 a monitoring programme has been carried out. An initial report, compiled from surveys carried out on behalf of the Highways Agency, is being prepared and is due to be published in the near future. More comprehensive reports are scheduled for one year and five years after opening.
	However, the M6 Toll concessionaire, Midland Expressway Ltd., has published figures showing that the average 24-hour weekday (Monday to Friday) two way traffic flow recorded in April 2004 was 47,247 vehicles per day (vpd). Weekend flows are lower at 39,575 vpd.
	Currently, there is no breakdown between cars, vans and lorries available but indications are that traffic flows comprise mainly cars and light vehicles with HGVs continuing to use the original M6 route.

M6

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost of constructing the M6 toll road was.

Tony McNulty: The M6 Toll has been privately financed by Midland Expressway Ltd. (MEL) under a 53 year concession agreement awarded by the Government in 1992. The construction costs awarded by MEL to its contractor at tender stage were 485.5 million. The overall costs are a matter for MEL but I understand that the development cost incurred is in the region of 900 million. This includes cost of land, interest on loans, consultancy, management, and legal fees.

Management Consultants (Railways)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much has been paid by his Department and its predecessors to management consultants in respect of the national railways in each year since 1997;
	(2)  which management consultants have worked for his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997; and what payments were made to each management consultancy for work in connection with the national rail network in each year.

Tony McNulty: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		 million
		
			 Consultant 200102 200203 200304 Total 
		
		
			 Mercer Management Consulting 3.928 0.777 0.539 5.244 
			 KPMG LLP   1.500 1.500 
			 Jacobs Consultancy UK Ltd.   0.090 0.090 
			 Total 3.928 0.777 2.129 6.834

Management Consultants (Railways)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has paid to management consultants in respect of the national railways in each year since the SRA was created;
	(2)  which management consultants have worked for the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), and what payments have been made to each for work in connection with the national rail network, in each year since the creation of the SRA.

Tony McNulty: The SRA was created in January 2001. The information requested is shown, for each year since the SRA's creation, in the following table:
	
		
		
			 Consultant 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total 
		
		
			 Frank Robertson Associates 12,727.40 5,623.40   18,350.80 
			 Hays Management Consultants159,495.01 159,495.01 
			 KPMG Consulting  143,364.80   143,364.80 
			 Mantix 83,600.00 69,200.00   152,800.00 
			 Organisation Consulting Partnership   55,426.76  55,426.76 
			 PJR Ltd.  29,250.00  5,551.88 34,801.88 
			 Parsons Group International Ltd. 24,920.0024,920.00 
			 Patricia Sloane Associates  4,800.00   4,800.00 
			 Towers Perrin  3,899.00 18,020.00 70,865.44 92,784.44 
			 Total 121,247.40 256,137.20 73,446.76 235,912.33 686,743.69

Management Consultants (Railways)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much Network Rail has paid to management consultants for work in connection with the national railways in each year since its creation;
	(2)what payments have been made for work in connection with the national rail network by Network Rail to each management consultancy which has carried out such work, broken down by year.

Tony McNulty: These are operational matters for Network Rail. Details of consultancies let by Network Rail are commercially confidential.

Ministerial Meetings

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings he has had with Mr. Alan Osborne over the last 12 months.

Tony McNulty: The Secretary of State met with Alan Osbourne on 13 May 2003 when he was an employee of the HSE.

Ministerial Meetings

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has met Mr. Alan Osborne to discuss the rail review.

Tony McNulty: The Secretary of State has not met with Alan Osbourne to discuss the rail review.

Ministerial Meetings

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has met the Health and Safety Commission to discuss the rail review.

Tony McNulty: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the HSE to discuss a range of issues and will be meeting with them again shortly.

Official Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of official vehicles used by his Department are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquid petroleum gas and (d) compressed natural gas.

Tony McNulty: The Government as a whole have signed up to various targets for improving the performance of its own vehicle fleet, details of which, together with reports on each Department's progress towards these targets, are available at www.sustainable-development.gov.uk.
	The Department for Transport Headquarters has very few departmental vehicles. The Government Car Service (GCS) provides our ministerial cars. For detailed information on the breakdown of the GCS vehicle fleet, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1538W.
	Over 1,000 vehicles are currently used by the Department for Transport's various agencies, including a number of specialist vehicles. Precise information is not readily available on the fuels used by all these vehicles, but in 2003 approximately 11 per cent. of the vehicles for which this information was available were LPG vehicles.

Piracy Conference

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  who from his Department will attend the International Maritime Bureau's piracy conference in June;
	(2)what (a) meetings he has had and (b) correspondence he has exchanged with his counterparts in (i) Malaysia and (ii) elsewhere on tackling piracy in Southern Asia.

Tony McNulty: The Department works with other countries in Southern Asia through the IMO on a routine basis to tackle piracy. In the past the Department has raised the topic in bilateral meetings with officials and Ministers from overseas countries (for example Indonesia). The Department's Transport Security Directorate, TRANSEC has in the past participated in and, jointly with the FCO, provided UK financial support for several IMO regional missions and seminars, presenting UK Government actions and chairing working groups and syndicates. These seminars have played an important role in raising awareness of the incidence and impact of piracy and armed robbery at sea. No request for a ministerial meeting has been received, nor has any ministerial correspondence been received.
	The Deputy Director of this Department's Transport Security Directorate, will be attending the International Maritime Bureau's piracy conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 2930. This will be a good opportunity for the UK to discuss piracy with the host country of Malaysia as well as other key states in the fight against piracy such as Indonesia and Singapore.

Railways

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding and subsidy arrangements are available from (a) central Government and (b) other national and European-based agencies to companies who wish to transport goods (a) into the United Kingdom and (b) across the United Kingdom by rail.

Tony McNulty: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) announced a 22 million Company Neutral Revenue Support grant from April to help the movement of domestic intermodal and deep-sea container traffic by rail instead of road where this is justified by environmental benefits.
	The SRA also operates the Freight Facilities Grant and the Track Access Grant schemes to support the cost of moving goods by rail instead of road within the UK where this is justified by environmental benefits. The Freight Facilities Grant is currently suspended.
	In 2003 the EU agreed a five-year funding programme called Marco Polo to encourage intermodal freight transport. Aid may be offered to schemes that involve at least two member states, subject to conditions. The total budget for the five-year period is 75 million euros.

Railways

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on improving line speeds on the track between Holyhead and Chester.

Tony McNulty: None. The SRA is actively considering the issues on the North Wales coast and investigating cost effective line speed increases which may be achievable through modest signal and track works. It must first address deliverability and planning issues. In doing so, it is consulting stakeholders, including the Welsh Assembly, about its proposals as part of the on-going work on the West Coast Strategy. Any commitment to future improvements that may demonstrate value for money will only be given if the project is affordable, and subject to other funding priorities.

Railways

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria were used by the Strategic Rail Authority in determining its policy of giving priority to long-distance services over local services when letting new railway franchises.

Alistair Darling: The Strategic Rail Authority does not have a policy of giving priority to long-distance services over local services when letting new railway franchises.

Regional Assemblies Bill

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether it is planned that the draft Regional Assemblies Bill should specify the circumstances in which decisions relating to transport and transport infrastructures will be taken at (a) regional and (b) national level.

Alistair Darling: The draft Regional Assemblies Bill will specify the proposed statutory provisions required to bring into effect the transport powers of elected regional assemblies set out in the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (CmSSll).
	Elected regional assemblies will be responsible for advising Government on funding allocations for local transport, taking over functions currently exercised by regional government offices. They will also be responsible for a regional transport strategy, which is currently prepared by regional planning bodies and issued by the Secretary pf State for planning as part of regional planning guidance.
	The powers of the elected regional assemblies in relation to rail will be subject to the outcome of the rail review, which I announced in my statement to the House on 19 January 2004.

Rescue Operations (Morecambe Bay)

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rescue operations have taken place of people caught in the rising tides in Morecambe Bay since 5 February.

Tony McNulty: Since 5 February 2004, Her Majesty's Coastguard has responded to seven incidents where people were caught out by rising tides in Morecambe Bay.

Road Safety

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the Safer City Project in reducing (a) road accidents and (b) road casualties in Gloucester.

Tony McNulty: Gloucester Safer City was a demonstration project sponsored by the Department for Transport and ran from 1996 to 2001. It was the subject of full monitoring and conditions in Gloucester were compared with five control towns.
	Compared with the control towns, the project showed that there was
	16.7 per cent. saving in all injury accidents
	36.9 per cent. saving in Killed or Seriously Injured accidents
	16 per cent. reduction in drivers exceeding speed limits
	65 per cent. residents said road safety had improved in the past five years
	Full details are given in the Research Report on Gloucester Safer City which can be found in the Road Safety section of the Department for Transport website.

Sea Ports/Airports

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is towards port developments.

Alistair Darling: Our policy towards port development is as set out in Modern Ports, our policy paper issued in 2000. We will support sustainable port projects for which there is a clear need, with each looked at in detail on its merits.

Sea Ports/Airports

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how his Department is promoting the UK ports industry.

Alistair Darling: We take appropriate steps necessary to ensure that the ports industry continues to meet the needs of the wider UK economy.

Sea Ports/Airports

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport under what authority the provision of port facilities elsewhere in Europe may be taken into account when considering whether new or expanded port facilities should be authorised in the UK.

Alistair Darling: The Habitats Directives provide that, where an Appropriate Assessment concludes that a proposed port development may adversely affect the integrity of a European Site, there is a requirement to consider alternative solutions. In these circumstances European Commission guidance states that alternative solutions may extend to alternatives in other EU regions or countries. However, it is clear that the extent to which options outside the UK are indeed alternatives will depend, amongst other things, on how effectively they can still serve the market in the UK.

Sea Ports/Airports

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last discussed the impact of the EU Habitats Directive on the ports industry with (a) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) his European counterparts.

Alistair Darling: Officials have regular discussions with DEFRA on a wide range of environmental port issues, including the impact of the Habitats Directive. We have worked with DEFRA in securing clarification from the Commission on application of the Habitats Directive in port approaches, and we have assisted the Commission's work with my European counterparts to ensure consistency across all Member States.

Speed Cameras

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his oral answer of 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 616, if he will list the sites where there are cameras in the Christchurch constituency to which he referred; and on what evidential basis he states that there had been an 18 per cent. reduction in people being killed or seriously injured at those sites.

Tony McNulty: The Department does not hold statistical information broken down by parliamentary constituency areas, but at the level of partnerships. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership for this information. A county-wide survey of Dorset found that at fixed camera sites there had been an 18 per cent. reduction in people being killed or seriously injured.

Transport (Borrowings Liability)

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what liability the Government have in respect of the borrowings of (a) Network Rail and (b) Transport for London.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows.
	(a) The Government, through the Strategic Rail Authority, have provided support up to a maximum of 21 billion principal for Network Rail's borrowing. These arrangements are shown as contingent liabilities in the Department's accounts.
	(b) Transport for London is an independent body and the Government have no liability in respect of its borrowings. However the Government do have outstanding contingent liabilities in respect of the London Underground PPP undertaken by London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway Lewisham extension PFI.

Vehicle Activated Signs

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what revenues raised from speed cameras can be used for the erection of Vehicle Activated Signs under the terms governing speed camera partnerships.

Tony McNulty: Approved traffic signs are allowable costs within the safety camera netting off programme. This includes the funding of Vehicle Activated Signs on a case-by-case basis. This matter is covered by the Handbook of Rules and Guidelines for the Operation of the National Road Safety Camera Programme for England and Wales, 31 October 2003, copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what training provision is provided for clerks to magistrates courts inthe use and application of anti-social behaviour orders.

Christopher Leslie: The responsibility for the training of court clerks currently rests locally with the 42 independent Magistrates Courts Committees (MCCs). The Judicial Studies Board (JSB) has issued guidance on the application and use of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) to all magistrates and this is available to court clerks.
	The JSB has also issued MCCs with two Criminal Justice Reform updates in March and April 2004 for circulation to both court clerks and magistrates.
	In addition, the Justice's Clerks Society has recently finalised a guidance document on ASBOs after consultation with the Home Office, which has been sent to all their members.

Community Legal Service

Nick Harvey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what consultations he has undertaken on (a) placing duties on local government to participate in Community Legal Service (CLS) Partnerships and (b) including CLS coverage in local authority strategic plans.

David Lammy: Recommendations from the Independent Review of the Community Legal Service (CLS), published on 28 April 2004, suggest changes to CLS Partnerships. CLS Partnerships have enjoyed considerable support from Local Authorities since they were set up in 2000. My Department is currently seeking views on the Review's recommendations, as part of a process of consultation. We will be considering the best way in which to build on the success of the CLS in the light of the Review's recommendations and the comments we receive. Any suggestions for a change in the interaction between Local Authorities and CLS Partnerships will be considered as part of this process.

Community Legal Service

Nick Harvey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what proposals he has to tackle, through the Community Legal Service, the unmet need and unresolved legal problems amongst low income, vulnerable and socially excluded groups.

David Lammy: The Community Legal Service (CLS) has already demonstrated that the law assists in tackling social exclusion, particularly in conjunction with other Government programmes (e.g. Jobcentre Plus and the Connexions service). Further details of the achievements of the CLS in this area can be found in my evidence, and that of the Legal Services Commission, to the recent enquiry of the Constitutional Affairs Committee on Access to Legal Aid. My Department is currently seeking views on the recommendations of the Independent Review of the CLS, published on 28 April 2004, as part of a process of consultation. We will be considering the best way in which to build on the success of the CLS in the light of the Review's recommendations and the comments we receive.

Computer File Formats

Richard Allan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what his Department's policy is in respect of the computer file formats used for the (a) distribution and (b) archiving of publicly available documents.

Christopher Leslie: The Department's documents that are generally available to the public electronically are provided through the Department's website (www.dca. gov.uk/publications.htm) These are usually available in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Portable Document format (PDF) formats. Previously published documents are archived in the same formats at: www.dca.gov.uk/pubs/archive.htm

Departmental Logo

Nigel Evans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent in (a) creating and (b) providing name plates for the outside of Government buildings bearing his Department's new logo.

Christopher Leslie: My Department has incurred costs of (a) 655.00 for consultancy and design fees for creating the new nameplates and (b) 3,313.92 in providing external name plates for the outside of Government buildings bearing its new logo. The 3,313.92 consists of 2,256.28 for the front sign at Selborne House and 1,057.64 for a sign to the rear of the same building.

Attachment of Earnings Orders

David Willetts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the (a) upward and (b) downward payroll adjustments an employer may have to make as a result of the policies of his Department.

Christopher Leslie: The Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 allows a court to make Attachment of Earnings Orders for unpaid maintenance, fines and civil judgment debts. Employers may therefore have to make downward payroll adjustments to reflect these court orders which require the deduction of a set sum from the employee's salary.

Departmental Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff were employed in the Department to work in the communications field, and what the total expenditure on communications for the Department was, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others, in (A) 199495, (B) 199697, (C) 199798 and (D) 200102.

David Lammy: The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) was created in June 2003, and therefore was not in existence during the periods for which details are required.

Minority Languages

Calum MacDonald: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the meeting of the British-Irish Council held in November 2003 identified areas for enhanced inter-governmental cooperation in respect of indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages.

Christopher Leslie: The meeting of the British-Irish Council in November 2003 focused on indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages. It was agreed that members of the BIC should:
	jointly consider outcomes of research into intergenerational language transmission;
	carry out an assessment of structures supporting indigenous language learning in adult education in each of the BIC administrations;
	work together to identify priorities for their respective indigenous languages in relation to information and communication technology development;
	consider together the potential benefits of co-operating on the development of language use surveys; and
	share information on their experiences of the relationship between planning policy and linguistic considerations.

Mental Incapacity Bill

Brian Iddon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what protection there is in the draft Mental Incapacity Bill for a person who lacks mental capacity because they have been heavily sedated.

David Lammy: The draft Mental Incapacity Bill will offer protection to any individual who lacks the capacity to make his or her own decisions. The Bill only permits actions taken or decisions made on behalf of someone who lacks capacity if they are made in their best interests. This process requires the person making the decision to consider whether it is likely that the person lacking capacity will at some time in the future have the capacity in relation to the matter and question, and therefore whether the decision may be postponed.
	The use of sedation will only be permitted if the person reasonably believes its use is necessary to prevent harm to the person lacking capacity, and proportionate to the likelihood and seriousness of that harm.
	The Government will also be responding shortly to the 40 recommendations of the Health Select Committee following their inquiry into elder abuse. These include recommended safeguards on the use of medication in care homes.

Official Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of official vehicles used by the Department are run on (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) liquid petroleum gas and (d) compressed natural gas.

David Lammy: The Government as a whole have signed up to various targets for improving the performance of their own vehicle fleet, details of which, together with reports on each Department's progress towards these targets are available at www.sustainable-development.gov.uk
	The Government Car Service provides my Departments ministerial vehicles. Detailed information on the breakdown of GCS vehicle fleet is being provided separately.
	The percentage of official vehicles used by my Department that run on the above fuel types are as follows:
	
		200304
		
			  Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Cars   
			 Petrol 22 4.09 
			 Diesel 499 92.75 
			 LPG(22) 17 3.16 
			 Natural gas 0 0 
			 Total 538 100 
			
			 Vans (3.5t)   
			 Petrol 0 0 
			 Diesel 1 100 
			 LPG/natural gas(22) 0 0 
			 Total 1 100 
			
			 Heavy vehicles (3.5t)   
			 Petrol 0 0 
			 Diesel 0 0 
			 LPG/natural gas(22) 0 0 
			 Total 0 100 
		
	
	(22) LPGDual Fuel (unleaded petrol and liquid petroleum gas) vehicles.

Parliamentary Questions

John Thurso: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many (a) ordinary written and (b) named day questions his Department received in (i) 200203 and (ii) this parliamentary session up to the most recent date for   which figures are available, broken down by month;
	(2)  what proportion of (a) ordinary written questions to his Department were answered within five sitting days of tabling and (b) questions for a named day received a substantive answer on that day in (i) 200203 and (ii)   the current parliamentary session up to the most recent date for which figures are available, broken down by month.

David Lammy: For the 200203 parliamentary session, my Department had 696 Commons ordinary written questions of which 383 were answered within five sittings days and 98 named day questions of which 65 were answered on the specified date.
	For the current parliamentary session (200304) my Department has had 436 Commons ordinary written questions, of which 301 were answered within five sitting days and 70 named day questions of which 34 were answered on the specified date.
	Figures are not available for my Department's parliamentary questions broken down by month as our records are not held in this manner.
	My Department endeavours to answer all parliamentary questions within the parliamentary deadlines whenever possible. In addition, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 3 March 2004, Official Report, column 907W.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many statutory reviews under section 101 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 have resulted in the High Court issuing a certificate of no merit under section 101(3)(d) in each month since April 2003.

David Lammy: The Administrative Court Office does not keep a record of the number of cases in which a certificate of no merit is issued. To ascertain this information each court file would have to be individually inspected to check the decision of the judge. These figures could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
	However, I am able to offer information from the Legal Services Commission (LSC). They have received 5 certificates of no merit for statutory review from the Administrative Court under section 101(3)(d) since April 2003.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many applications to the Legal Services Commission for certificates of public funding for statutory review under section 101 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 have been (a) granted and (b) refused each month since April 2003.

David Lammy: The Legal Services Commission did not receive any applications for statutory review until July 2003, but the number granted between July 2003 and March 2004 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 2003 Month certificates granted 
		
		
			 July 1 
			 August 2 
			 September 23 
			 October 37 
			 November 33 
			 December 30 
			 January 49 
			 February 24 
			 March 64 
		
	
	The Legal Services Commission is unable to provide figures for the number of applications refused because its systems do not record refusal data broken down by category of case.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many statutory reviews under section 101 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 have been heard by the High Court in each month since April 2003; and how many of these were determined in favour of the applicant.

David Lammy: The Administrative Court received the first applications for statutory review in May 2003. Statutory reviews under section 101 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 are considered on paper only; there are no hearings. The figures from May 2003 until April 2004 of statutory review applications received and granted are as follows:
	
		
			 Month/year Applications received Applications granted 
		
		
			 May 2003 2 1 
			 June 2003 3 0 
			 July 2003 2 0 
			 August 2003 9 0 
			 September 2003 65 10 
			 October 2003 84 26 
			 November 2003 95 14 
			 December 2003 117 15 
			 January 2004 118 8 
			 February 2004 130 40 
			 March 2004 203 25 
			 April 2004 116 36 
			 Total 944 175

WORK AND PENSIONS

Jobseeker's Allowance (Liverpool, Walton)

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Liverpool, Walton were receiving jobseeker's allowance in each year from its inception to 2003.

Chris Pond: The information is in the table.
	
		Jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants in Liverpool, Walton
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 5,661 
			 1998 4,863 
			 1999 4,513 
			 2000 4,092 
			 2001 3,730 
			 2002 3,502 
			 2003 3,317 
			 2004 2,983 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures given are the claimant count in March for each year.
	2. Figures are not seasonally adjusted and do not include clerical cases.
	3. Jobseeker's allowance was introduced in October 1996.
	Source:
	100 per cent. count, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.

Benefit Claims

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were claiming key benefits in (a) the Edinburgh, West constituency and (b) the City of Edinburgh local authority area in each year since 1995.

Chris Pond: The information is in the following tables.
	
		Number of claimants of key benefits in Edinburgh West parliamentary constituency by client group -- Thousand
		
			 As at November Working Age Over State Pension Age 
		
		
			 1995 6.3 NA 
			 1996 6.0 NA 
			 1997 5.5 NA 
			 1998 5.1 NA 
			 1999 5.3 15.4 
			 2000 4.9 15.7 
			 2001 4.9 15.8 
			 2002 4.6 16.0 
			 2003 5.0 15.8 
		
	
	
		Number of claimants of key benefits in City of Edinburgh local authority by client group -- Thousand
		
			 As at November Working Age Over State Pension age 
		
		
			 1995 47.7 NA 
			 1996 45.9 NA 
			 1997 41.9 NA 
			 1998 41.4 NA 
			 1999 40.4 76.9 
			 2000 38.9 76.2 
			 2001 37.5 76.3 
			 2002 37.2 75.8 
			 2003 37.9 75.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are taken from a five per cent sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. Working Age Key Benefits are Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Benefit and Disability Living Allowance.
	4. Pension Age Key Benefits are State Pension, Incapacity Benefit, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) /Pension Credit and Severe Disablement Allowance.
	5. Pension Credit replaced MIG from 6 October 2003.
	6. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities have been allocated using the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	7. Parliamentary constituency and local authority breakdowns were not available prior to Nov 1999 for claimants over State Pension age.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre.

Benefits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 April, Official Report, column 1633W, on pension payment, what the arrangements will be for cashing the cheques.

Chris Pond: Direct Payment is an essential part of our drive against financial and social exclusion, giving our customers access to a wide range of financial services, which some cannot access at present.
	The cheque method of payment is only intended for those customers who genuinely cannot use Direct Payment. Customers who will require a cheque payment are likely to have had experience of, and be familiar with, cashing order books and giros at the post office. The cheque solution replicates this process. Cheques can be cashed at post office branches or paid into an account, and they will provide the facility for a third party to cash the cheque on a customer's behalf.

Benefits

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many and what percentage of those (a) of working age and (b) not of working age who receive (i) attendance allowance, (ii) each (A) level and (B) component of disability living allowance and (iii) incapacity benefit, broken down by region.

Maria Eagle: Information on the numbers of benefit recipients as requested has been placed the Library.

Benefits

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many people in Newcastle upon Tyne, Central constituency receive (a) attendance allowance, (b) each (i) level and (ii)   component of disability living allowance and (c) incapacity benefit.

Maria Eagle: The information required is set out in the tables.
	
		AA by rate in Newcastle upon Tyne, Central parliamentary constituency as at 30November 2003
		
			  Thousand 
		
		
			 All 1.8 
			 Higher rate 1.2 
			 Lower rate 0.6 
		
	
	
		DLA by rate in the Newcastle upon Tyne, Central parliamentary constituency -- Thousand
		
			  All Children Working age Pensioners 
		
		
			 All 4.1 (23)0.4 2.1 1.1 
			  
			 Higher Rate Care and Higher Mobility 0.6  (23)0.4 (23)0.2 
			 Higher Rate Care Lower Rate Mobility (23)0.3 (23)0.1 (23)0.2  
			 Higher Rate Care only (23)0.1 (23)0.1   
			 Middle Rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility 0.6  (23)0.3 (23)0.2 
			 Middle Rate Care and Lower Rate Mobility (23)0.5 (23)0.1 (23)0.4  
			 Middle Rate Care only (23)0.2 (23)0.1 (23)0.1  
			 Lower Rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility 0.8  (23)0.4 (23)0.3 
			 Lower Rate Care and Lower Rate Mobility (23)0.1  (23)0.1  
			 Lower Rate Care only (23)0.4 (23)0.1 (23)0.2 (23)0.1 
			 Higher Rate Mobility (23)0.5  (23)0.3 (23)0.2 
			 Lower Rate Mobility (23)0.2  (23)0.2  
		
	
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) beneficiaries in the Newcastle upon Tyne, Central constituency at 30November 2003, by rate of IB
		
			  Thousand 
		
		
			 IB/SDA total 3.2 
			 All IB rates 2.7 
			 IB short term (low rate) (23)0.1 
			 IB short term (high rate) (23)0.2 
			 IB long term rate 2.4 
			 SDA 0.5 
		
	
	(23) Figures are based on a very few sample cases and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling error and should be used as a guide to the current situation only.
	Note:
	Figures are shown in thousands and are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample.

Benefits

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of those claiming (a) incapacity benefit and (b) severe disablement allowance for (i) anxiety, (ii) stress, (iii) depression and (iv) other mental health reasons in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 25 May 2004
	The available information is in the table.
	
		 million
		
			  199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Incapacity benefitbenefit expenditure by year and selected conditions 
			 Phobic Anxiety Disorders or Other Anxiety Disorders 280 278 262 279 281 284 282 
			 Reaction to Severe Stress (e.g. Post traumatic stress disorder) 48 56 66 78 89 97 103 
			 Depressive Episode or Recurrent Depressive Disorder 773 831 827 918 969 1,002 1,036 
			 All other Mental and Behavioural Disorders 583 584 515 567 563 603 613 
			  
			 Severe disablement allowancebenefit expenditure by year and selected conditions 
			 Phobic anxiety disorders or other anxiety disorders 17 17 16 16 16 15 13 
			 Reaction to severe stress (e.g. post traumatic stress disorder) (24) 1 1 1 1 1 1 
			 Depressive episode or recurrent depressive disorder 51 50 50 50 53 48 44 
			 All other mental and behavioural disorders 350 347 356 361 366 326 316 
		
	
	(24)   Less than 0.5 million.
	Notes:
	Figures are consistent with the historical outturn expenditure figures published in the DWP's benefit expenditure which can be found on the Department for Work and Pensions website at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure. asp.
	Figures are for IB and SDA recipients only and do not include credits only cases or income-related benefits.
	Figures do not include costs of administration.
	From 6 April 2001, there are no new claims for SDA; from that date people disabled early in life can qualify for IB.
	Expenditure has been apportioned using data on conditions of IB and SDA recipients from the IB Quarterly Statistical Enquiry which is based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	Figures are in 200405 prices, calculated using the latest GDP deflator.
	Figures are rounded to the nearest million pounds.
	Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	Figures for 200304 are estimated outturn.
	Source:
	DWPInformation and Analysis Directorate, Great Britain estimated expenditure on incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) by year and selected conditions.

Benefits

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who are entitled to (a) income support, (b) attendance allowance, (c) disability living allowance, (d) pension credit, (e) council tax benefit and (f) housing benefit are not claiming it in the Vale of Clwyd.

Chris Pond: The information is not available.
	National figures of the estimated number of people who are entitled to, but not receiving, income support, council tax benefit and housing benefit can be obtained from the DWP report, Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up. The latest statistics relate to financial year 200102; a copy of the publication is held in the Library.

Benefits

Eric Forth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged from 16 years to 64 years received (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) severe disablement allowance in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available; what the costs of each was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: The information is in the table.
	
		
			199798   200304 
			  Expenditure ( million) Caseload (thousands) Expenditure ( million) Caseload (thousands) 
		
		
			 Jobseekers allowance   (contribution based) 475 201 531 183 
			 Jobseekers allowance   (income based) 3,418 1,190 2,027 658 
			 Incapacity benefit 6,640 1,600 6,637 1,497 
			 Severe disablement   allowance 909 346 810 286 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Expenditure is shown in cash terms.
	2. Expenditure for 200304 is estimated outturn.
	3. Caseload is for August for both the financial years shown in the table. Figures do not include those receiving national insurance credits only. Some jobseeker's allowance recipients can receive both types of benefit, and these are included in caseload figures for both contribution-based and income-based benefit.
	4. Expenditure is rounded to the nearest million. Caseload is rounded to the nearest thousand.

Benefits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what access to benefits British nationals entering this country who are destitute are entitled.

Chris Pond: British nationals arriving in the UK from abroad may make an immediate claim for income support, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-based). In addition to satisfying the normal conditions of entitlement, anyone who claims these benefits within two years of coming to the UK must also demonstrate that they are habitually resident in this country.
	Under the National Assistance Act 1948, local authorities may provide accommodation to British passport holders who do not pass the habitual residence test if they are destitute and have a need for care and attention which is not otherwise available. Such accommodation can be provided only as board and lodging and if the local authority considers it appropriate to do so in all the circumstances. Authorities are not obliged under the Act to provide other services or cash payments.

Child Support Agency

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what prioritisation criteria will be used in the process of transferring existing Child Support Agency cases to the new assessment system.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Dr. Stoate) on 27 January 2004, Official Report, column 341W.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his oral statement of 11 February to the Work and Pensions Select Committee, on the Child Support Agency reforms, if he will list the milestones against which the success of the recovery programme will be judged.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 27 May 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Oral Statement of 11th February, to the Work and Pensions Select Committee, on the Child Support Agency reforms, 11th February, if he will list the milestones against which the success of the recovery programme will be judged.
	In accordance with our agreed plans EDS made enhancements to their computer service for Child Support Reform on 26 January and 22 March. They made enhancements to their telephony service on 9 and 10 January and 29 March. We have agreed plans in place covering a further upgrade to their service on 7 June 2004. We are aware that EDS currently have plans for further upgrades in August and October. This is in line with their stated intention to complete their remedial work by October 2004. We are still discussing the final content and delivery timetable for their remaining plans and until those are agreed I am unable to provide any further milestones.

Child Support Agency

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason a non-resident father's Child Support Agency payment stops when a child is born to that father in a new relationship.

Chris Pond: When a new child is born the non-resident parent's liability will be recalculated to take account of their change in responsibilities.
	Under the old scheme, if a non-resident parent had previously been assessed to pay the minimum amount of maintenance (currently 5.60 a week) the birth of a new child would mean that they were exempt from this minimum payment.
	Under the new scheme, a flat rate of maintenance (usually 5.00 a week) is payable even if there is a child present in the non-resident parent's household.

Child Support Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency's powers (a) to obtain sufficient information to make an assessment of child support and (b) to enforce payment of assessed child support; and what plans he has to alter and extend these powers.

Chris Pond: The Child Support Agency has a wide range of powers both to obtain the necessary information and to enforce payments of child maintenance where necessary. I have no plans to change these.

Child Support Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances separated parents may (a) seek a court order for the assessment of child support and (b) register with the Child Support Agency a voluntary agreement for child support as alternatives to seeking an assessment of child support by the Child Support Agency.

Chris Pond: Parents who do not already have a court order cannot usually make arrangements for child support through the court unless the court is converting a written maintenance agreement to a consent order.
	Parents with care in receipt of Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance are required by law to co-operate with the Child Support Agency. Any existing form of court order or agreement will be superseded by a maintenance calculation which must be honoured.
	The Child Support Agency can only calculate child maintenance in accordance with the legislation. It cannot register a voluntary agreement for child support.

Child Support Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons of data protection the Child Support Agency may withhold from a client information about a change of circumstances of the person liable to pay child support when such change affects the amount of child support payable.

Chris Pond: Regulation 9A of the Information, Evidence and Disclosure Regulations (1992) covers the information which may be disclosed to a third party. This provides that only information which is essential to the understanding of how the maintenance is calculated will be made available to either party.

Child Support Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency's new computer system provided by EDS.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. David Kidney, dated 27 May 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency's new computer system provided by EDS.
	The Agency meets with EDS on a regular basis to assess both the effectiveness of their current computer service and their plans for remedying known defects. The service is progressively improving as defects are fixed. Ministers last reported to the House on the operational impacts of this on 21 April 2004.

Child Support Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what circumstances the income of the household of a person liable to pay child support rather than solely the liable person's income can be taken into account for the purpose of assessing child support.

Chris Pond: The income of the partner of a non-resident parent is only taken into account when assessing child support in the old scheme. It is used to calculate the protected level of income within the formula. Without this information the Child Support Agency cannot make a final assessment. The non-resident parent might then be asked, in the interim, to pay a higher amount than his or her circumstances would otherwise demand.
	Under the new scheme, the maintenance calculation is based only on the income of the non-resident parent, which could however include tax credit paid to another member of their household.

Child Support Agency

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends that child support cases under the old Child Support Agency system will be migrated to the new system.

Chris Pond: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.

Child Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the proposed timetable for transferring the child elements of jobseeker's allowance and income support to child tax credit payments;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the agreement reached between the Department and the Inland Revenue ensuring that families do not lose the child element of jobseeker's allowance and income support until child tax payments are guaranteed.

Chris Pond: The transfer of income support and jobseeker's allowance cases on to child tax credit began on 6 April 2004 as planned. Families on income support and jobseeker's allowance who were already receiving child tax credit have started to receive support for their children solely through child tax credit. New claimants of income support and jobseeker's allowance are no longer awarded child allowances in those benefits, but receive child tax credit instead.
	The automatic phased transfer on to child tax credit of the remaining families with children within income support and jobseeker's allowance is planned to begin from October 2004. Meanwhile, families will continue to receive the same level of support through their benefits as they would from child tax credit.
	We have always recognised that it is important to ensure a successful and smooth migration for claimants of income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance on to child tax credit. We have therefore taken steps to ensure that those families will not lose the child element of jobseeker's allowance and income support until we have confirmation that child tax credit has been awarded. The technical design of the income support and jobseeker's allowance computer systems ensure this. The child and family elements will automatically continue to be paid until a confirmation that child tax credit has been awarded is received from Inland Revenue.
	In April 2002, The Treasury published The Child and Working Tax Credits (HMT 2002), which made it clear that continuity of payment is of particular importance to us.

Compensation Recovery Unit

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases (a) were registered with the Compensation Recovery Unit and (b) resulted in repayment of benefits to the CRU in each of the last 10 years; what the total repaid to the CRU was; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 17 May 2004
	The available information is in the table.
	
		
		
			  200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Total number of claims   registered 688,315 706,715 770,243 
			 Total number of benefit   recovery cases 35,907 40,258 39,995 
			 Total benefit recovered 139,130,000 166,590,000 171,110,000 
		
	
	Note:
	It is not possible to provide the requested information prior to the year 200102 as records are only kept for the most recent three years.

Payroll Adjustments

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) upward and (b) downward payroll adjustments an employer may have to make as a result of the policies of his Department.

Jane Kennedy: There are limited circumstances under which an employer may need to make payroll adjustments as a result of our policies.
	Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Sick Pay are both paid by employers and may require payroll adjustments. Employers may also need to implement a Deduction from Earnings Order if the Child Support Agency deems this necessary to ensure a non-resident parent fulfils their responsibilities as a parent.
	It is also sometimes necessary, where voluntary agreements have failed, for employers to administer an Attachment of Earnings Order in relation to the enforcement of debt recovery through the civil courts.

Departmental Staffing

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many of his Department's employees are working in Strathkelvin and Bearsden;
	(2)  how many of his Department's employees are working in Scotland.

Maria Eagle: As at 31 March 2004, a total of 15,487 Department for Work and Pensions employees were based in Scotland. This figure includes 536 temporary staff. The information is not collected for parliamentary constituencies.

Disabled Workers

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work   and Pensions if he will make a statement on the measures introduced to improve the working conditions of disabled workers in Bootle over the last seven years.

Maria Eagle: We have a number of measures in place nationally to help improve conditions for disabled people at work, as well as measures to improve their access to services generally. None of these are specific to Bootle, but all are available to disabled people who live and work there.
	From 1996, the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act required most employers of 20 or more staff not to discriminate against, and to make reasonable adjustments for, disabled job applicants or employees; in December 1998, we reduced this threshold to 15 employees. From October this year, the small employer exemption will be removed and most currently excluded occupations, such as police officers, firefighters, and partners in business partnerships will be brought within the scope of the Disability Discrimination Act employment provisions.
	Jobcentre Plus runs a number of specialist programmes providing help for disabled people, including New Deal for Disabled People, Workstep, Access to Work, the Job Introduction Scheme, and Work Preparation. All these programmes provide practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers to help overcome work related obstacles resulting from disability. Since 199798 there have been year on year increases in both numbers helped and programme spend.
	To help people access appropriate help, Jobcentre Plus has established a network of Disability Service Teams. The teams are made up of Disability Employment Advisers, Access to Work Advisers and Occupational Psychologists; their services are accessed through local Jobcentres. Since April 2003, disabled people in work have been receiving financial support through the Working Tax Credit. This is available if a person is working an average of at least 16 hours per week (self-employed or for an employer); and have a disability which puts them at a disadvantage in getting a job. 70,000 families (including over 32,000 adults without children) are benefiting from the disability element within the Working Tax Credit, compared with 38,000 who benefited from the old Disabled Person's Tax Credit.

Disability Living Allowance

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of people in Great Britain are in receipt of disability living allowance.

Maria Eagle: The response to the question is set out in the following table.
	DLA Recipients by Government Office Region against population as at 30 November 2003.
	
		
			  All (Thousand) Percentage of the population 
		
		
			 All 2,558.2 4.4 
			 North East 156.5 6.2 
			 North West 405.7 6.0 
			 Yorkshire and Number 249.7 5.0 
			 East Midlands 184.2 4.4 
			 West Midlands 245.6 4.6 
			 East 180.1 3.3 
			 London 249.3 3.4 
			 South East 222.5 2.8 
			 South West 173.1 3.5 
			 Wales 207.9 7.1 
			 Scotland 283.6 5.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures taken from a five per cent sample at 30 November 2003.
	2. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.
	4. Population figures are from the Office for National Statistics and the General Registrar of Scotland at mid 2002.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre.

Early Retirement

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employees in his Department took early retirement, and at what total cost, in the last financial year.

Maria Eagle: 53 staff took early retirement from the Department for Work and Pensions in the financial year 200304, at a total cost in that year of 1,154,073.
	In addition to costs in the year of early retirement there are subsequent costs until the individual staff reach age 60. Costs in subsequent years for these early retirements are as follows:
	
		
		
			  Costs 
		
		
			 200405 470,215 
			 200506 345,592 
			 200607 286,207 
			 200708 221,997 
			 200809 69,477 
			 200910 50,682 
			 201011 47,166 
			 201112 15,766 
			 201213 2,359 
		
	
	For the same period there were 156 cases of actuarially reduced retirement. Actuarially reduced retirement enables staff aged 50 and over to retire early and receive an immediate payment of an actuarially reduced pension at no extra cost to the Exchequer.

Filestore (Nelson)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for the filestore in Nelson, Lancashire; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: Records storage for the Department for Work and Pensions is moving to Capita from 1 July 2004, with migration of services taking place over the following two to three years.
	Negotiations regarding the effect of this on individual stores, including that of Nelson, Lancashire, are continuing.
	It is not anticipated that the majority of the 44 existing departmental in-house filestores, will continue in operation, however one or two of the larger stores may remain operational although functions may change over time.

Health and Safety Inspectors

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many health and safety inspectors there are, broken down by (a) ethnicity and (b) languages other than English spoken by inspectors; what methods of communications are available to inspectors when dealing with workers who are not fluent in English; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The following tables show the number of full time equivalent inspectors broken down by their ethnicity (Table 1) and the languages other than English spoken (Table 2) as at 21 May 2004.
	
		Table 1: Break down of inspectors by ethnicity
		
			 Ethnic origin Number 
		
		
			 African 4.65 
			 Any Chinese background not specified 2 
			 Any other ethnic background not specified 8 
			 Any other mixed ethnic background 1 
			 Asian and White 3 
			 Black Caribbean and White 0.55 
			 Caribbean 7 
			 East African Asian 1 
			 Egyptian 1 
			 Indian 19.61 
			 Other Asian background not specified 4 
			 Pakistani 8 
			 Tehran/Iran 1 
			 Other(25) 1,507.8 
			 Total 1,568.61 
		
	
	(25)   The information on individual ethnic origins has been provided from the HSE's personnel system and is based on the recently completed survey. However, it should be noted that if the individual declined to respond on the form then the system would automatically default to other.
	
		Table 2: Break down of the languages spoken by inspectors
		
			 Language(26) Number 
		
		
			 Arabic 2.0 
			 Bengali 2.0 
			 Cantonese 2.0 
			 Chinese 2.0 
			 Chinese Mandarin 1.0 
			 Czech 1.0 
			 Danish 3.0 
			 Dutch 2.8 
			 Farsi 1.0 
			 Flemish 1.0 
			 French 329.0 
			 Gaelic 3.0 
			 German 89.0 
			 Greek 2.5 
			 Gujarati 2.6 
			 Hindi 7.0 
			 Igbo 0.7 
			 Italian 18.9 
			 Japanese 1.0 
			 Nepali 1.0 
			 Norwegian 3.0 
			 Polish 1.0 
			 Portuguese 2.8 
			 Punjabi 15.0 
			 Pushtu 1.0 
			 Russia 6.0 
			 Sign 1.0 
			 Spanish 40.2 
			 Swahili 1.0 
			 Swedish 2.0 
			 Tamil 2.0 
			 Urdu 8.0 
			 Welsh 20.7 
			 Yoruba 1.0 
			 Total(27) 577.3 
		
	
	(26)   Languages other than English.
	(27)   Some inspectors speak more than one language other than English.
	HSE provides two main means of communication for inspectors who are not fluent in the language spoken by workers with whom they are dealing. These are interpreters for verbal communications and translators for provision of written communications.
	There is a legal duty on all employers to provide comprehensible and relevant information on the risks to the health and safety of their employees and the measures they have in place to protect them against those risks. This means that those employing workers who are not fluent in English may need to make special arrangements in order to comply with this duty. To help them comply, HSE and its inspectors seeks to provide support to such employers through a range of services including the provision of leaflets containing key health and safety messages translated into a variety of languages and access to a translation service.

Housing Benefit

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cumulative additional cost to his Department has been of housing benefit paid where council housing is transferred from councils to registered social landlords in each year from 1999 to 2000.

Chris Pond: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave him on 20 May 2004, Official Report, column 1169W.

Income Support

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving income support in each of the last 25 years, broken down by constituency within each region.

Chris Pond: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Industrial Injuries (Appeals)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Government's target time is from application to hearing for appeals concerning industrial injuries disablement benefit diseases; and what the average waiting time has been for those whose appeals are currently being heard.

Chris Pond: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. She will reply to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Mr. Tony Lloyd dated 27 May 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding the target time for hearing appeals concerning Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) diseases and the average waiting time for those whose appeals are currently being heard.
	Our target for the 20032004 financial year was to hear appeals within an average of 13 weeks from receipt in our Service. Information on waiting times is not available in the format requested but I can advise you that the average waiting time for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit appeals was 15.9 weeks for the 20032004 financial year.
	I hope that this is helpful.

Information and Communication Technology

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his budget is for staff training in information and communication technology in this financial year.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies do not have a specific budget for training staff in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) during the current financial year. Resource is allocated to Learning and Development in general and includes an element in respect of ICT learning.
	However, Jobcentre Plus, DWP's largest agency, has committed a budget of 400,000 for non-specialist staff to learn basic IT applications such as Word and Excel. All other ICT learning in the Department will be funded from the general Learning and Development budget.

Information and Communication Technology

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his targets are for improving the information and communication technology (ICT) skills base of staff within (a) his Department and (b) its agencies; and what method he uses to certify the competence levels achieved by staff receiving training in ICT.

Maria Eagle: DWP and its agencies do not have specific targets for improving the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills base of staff, but we are committed to ensuring staff have the skills and competence to do their jobs. Learning needs are identified on an individual basis through discussion between jobholders and their line managers. This process will increasingly be assisted by the development of a series of capability matrices which will enable individuals to define their learning needs and to identify the learning solutions by which they can meet them.
	The standard Kirkpatrick model is used to evaluate learning and development in the Department, including an assessment of whether individuals have met the learning objectives of the course.
	Scottish and National Vocational Qualifications (S/NVQs) in Information Technology are available to staff but these are not mandatory. In the business year 200304, 200 staff completed full awards in IT S/NVQ's. Of these, 16 were at level 1, 156 at level 2 and 28 were at level 3. Staff undertaking S/NVQ's are required to produce a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate the required level of competence.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the assessment made under the provisions of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 of the proposal to move Jobcentre Plus jobs out of London; and if he will   make a statement on the implications of the assessment.

Jane Kennedy: The draft Impact Assessment forms the basis for further consultation and is currently with London Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) representatives for their initial comments. Following receipt of their comments the intention is to circulate a further draft to a much wider range of stakeholders including all London MPs, the Greater London Authority, the Commission for Racial Equality, the London Development Agency, the Government Office for London and others.
	Once the draft has been agreed, the final version will of course be made available and I will arrange for a copy of this document to be placed in the Library when it is published.

EU Worker Registration

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely impact of the fee for registering under the EU workers registration scheme (a) on Jobcentre Plus services and   (b) on illegal working; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The UK Government support the free movement of people and workers within the EUproviding our citizens with the opportunity to work elsewhere, as well as allowing our economy to benefit from the productive potential of workers from the new member states.
	The UK has one of the most successful and flexible labour markets in the EU with unemployment at its lowest level for 30 years. The UK labour market has upwards of 550,000 vacancies, and around 15 per cent. of UK trend economic growth depends on migration. Indeed studies show that migrants paid 2.5 billion more in taxes in 19992000 than they consumed in benefits and services. Hence the UK is well placed to absorb additional workers from accession states.
	But just as UK nationals have the responsibility not to abuse our benefit and social protection system, so we would expect our neighbours and partners in the EU not to abuse the system. That is why we have allowed free movement of labour but brought in regulations to prevent exploitation of our benefits.
	It costs 50 to register for the first time under the worker registration scheme. The fee has been set at this level to cover some of the administrative costs of running the scheme, in accordance with other charged services. Registration enables those nationals from the eight accession states who were working in the UK without authorisation prior to 1 May to regularise their status and move into the formal economy. We do not believe that a one-off fee of 50 will act as a deterrent to registration by them or by others arriving in the UK. Similarly, we foresee the introduction of this fee having no impact on the services provided by Jobcentre Plus.

Lung Diseases

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the most recent estimate is of the number of (a) deaths from mesothelioma, (b) cases of lung cancer attributable to asbestos, (c) deaths from asbestosis, (d) disablement benefit cases relating to asbestosis and (e) cases of disablement benefit for diffuse pleural thickening.

Jane Kennedy: There were 1, 848 deaths from mesothelioma in 2001 (the latest year for which data are available).
	Lung cancers caused by exposure to asbestos cannot be individually distinguished from those due to other causes such as smoking. However, based on research evidence on the relative incidence of mesothelioma and lung cancer in specific occupational groups, it is estimated that there were between approximately 1,750 and 3,500 asbestos related lung cancer deaths in 2001.
	There were 73 deaths in 2001 in Great Britain where the underlying cause of death was recorded as asbestosis.
	Provisional figures for 2003 indicate that 650 cases of asbestosis and 400 cases of diffuse pleural thickening were identified through the Department for Work and Pensions Industrial Injuries and Disablement Benefit Scheme.

Mr. F.A. Street

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the decision of the appeal tribunal on 23 April to pay income support to Mr. F A Street of Kingsbridge, Devon from 31 October 2003 will be implemented; and what the reasons are why payment has not been made.

Chris Pond: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Steen, dated 27 May 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question concerning payment of income support for Mr. F A Street, following an appeal tribunal decision. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Details of benefit claims are confidential and I will write to you directly on the matter in question.
	This is in line with Part 2, paragraph 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

New Deal

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents in Manchester, Central have gained work through the New Deal programme.

Jane Kennedy: 700 lone parents in Manchester, Central have gained work through the New Deal for Lone Parents since the start of the programme in October 1998. Figures for lone parents who have gained work through other New Deal programmes are not available.

New Deal

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in Bootle have benefited from (a) the New Deal for Lone Parents and (b) the New Deal for Partners since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Through the New Deal we have introduced a wide range of initiatives to help individuals improve their employment prospects by giving them the skills, support and confidence they need to move into work. From 12 April we enhanced the New Deal for Partners in order to offer partners taking part in that programme the same level of help and support as our successful New Deal for Lone Parents programme. Also from this April we have started to roll out Work Focused Interviews for Partners, offering greater support to partners of benefit recipients.
	Some 1,390 women have started New Deal for Lone Parents in Bootle since the beginning of the programme in October 1998, of whom, 800 have gained a job. Information on the number of women who have benefited from the New Deal for Partners is not available.

New Deal

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents in Bootle have gained work through the New Deal programme.

Jane Kennedy: 810 lone parents in Bootle have gained work through the New Deal for Lone Parents since the start of the programme in October 1998. Figures for lone parents who have gained work through other New Deal Programmes are not available.

Parental Income

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) two non-working parents with four children under 16 years and (b) two working parents with four children under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000;
	(2)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) two non-working parents with three children under 16 years and (b) two working parents with three children under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000;
	(3)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) one non-working parent with a child under 16 years and (b) one working parent with a child under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000;
	(4)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) one non-working parent with two children under 16 years and (b) one working parent with two children under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v)  30,000;
	(5)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) one non-working parent with three children under 16 years and (b) one working parent with three children under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000.
	(6)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) one non-working parent with four children under 16 years and (b) one working parent with four children under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000;
	(7)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) two non-working parents with a child under 16 years and (b) two working parents with a child under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000;
	(8)  what the net effect has been of income tax, national insurance and benefits in each year since 1997 on the income of (a) two non-working parents with two children under 16 years and (b) two working parents with two children under 16 years earning up to (i) 10,000, (ii) 15,000, (iii) 20,000, (iv) 25,000 and (v) 30,000.

Chris Pond: The information has been placed in the Library.

Parliamentary Questions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer questions (a) 152844, (b) 152845 and (c) 152855, tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon on 30 January.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 22 April 2004
	Replies were given to the hon. Member on 22 April, 12 February and 24 May respectively.

Parliamentary Questions

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of (a) ordinary written questions to his Department were answered within five sitting days of tabling and (b) questions for written answer on a named day received a substantive answer on   that day in (i) the 200203 parliamentary session and (ii) this parliamentary session, broken down by month.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Proportion of ordinary written questions answered within five sitting days Proportion of named day written questions answered on that day 
		
		
			 Session 200203 
			 1330 November 4 20 
			 December 41 41 
			 January 23 55 
			 February 34 52 
			 March 37 60 
			 April 57 46 
			 May 50 62 
			 June 16 53 
			 July 56 73 
			 August No questions tabled  
			 September 80 79 
			 October 45 73 
			 120 November 74 75 
			
			 Session 200304   
			 2630 November 35 100 
			 December 62 73 
			 January 39 78 
			 February 48 83 
			 March 52 81 
			 April 85 72 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures correct as at 5 May 2004.

Pension Protection Fund

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the annual cost of running the Pension Protection Fund, broken down by (a) direct costs of employing staff, (b) costs paid to outside bodies including (i) investment managers and (ii) actuaries and (c) the costs of collecting the levy by the New Pension Regulator.

Malcolm Wicks: Our initial estimates indicate that running costs for the early years of the PPF are between 915 million per year. These are order of magnitude figures and are based on a number of assumptions made very early on about the way the PPF might operate. The operating model and the detailed processes underpinning that model are now being refined; this is enabling us to have a much clearer view about not only the potential supply routes, but also the number of people, and necessary skills set, the PPF will need to deliver its business. It is important to note that final decisions relating to operations are very much a matter for the in-coming board. Estimates will be revised once these decisions are firmed up.
	With those points in mind, the early numbers show that on the basis of PPF employing around 100 staffincluding professionals such as actuariesthe staff costs represent approximately a third of the total. The charges relating to investment managers are not factored into the admin costs, as they are part and parcel of the on-going activity relating to the Fund itself. Assumptions relating to the charges in this area are, at this stage, commercially sensitive. We estimate costs relating to levy collection are in the order of less than half a million pounds.

Pension/Benefit Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has taken to eliminate (a) pension and (b) housing benefit fraud.

Chris Pond: We are committed to driving down levels of fraud and error in the benefits system.
	A service delivery agreement was introduced to reduce loss from fraud and error in minimum income guarantee/pension credit by 20 per cent. by March 2006. The latest figures for minimum income guarantee were published in the national statistical report, Fraud and Error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance from April 2002 to March 2003; a copy is available in the Library.
	The report shows that loss from fraud and error is falling, with a 17 per cent. reduction in fraud and error between April 2002 and March 2003 against the baseline, and a reduction in fraud alone of 45 per cent.
	Data-matching with the Inland Revenue on savings and contributions to occupational pension schemes identifies income that may not have been reported; additionally information on other savings products such as individual savings accounts will become available for data matching later this year. These measures are equally applicable to the detection of fraud in relation to pension credit which replaced minimum income guarantee in October 2003.
	The Government have set a challenging target to reduce fraud and error in housing benefit for working age people. We are working with local authorities to achieve a 25 per cent. reduction by March 2006, and the total amount available to spend on tackling fraud and error in housing benefit in the three years from 2003 to 2006 is 420 million. The Department published Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit, April 2002 to March 2003 on 11 December 2003. This report represents the first national headline estimates for the level of fraud and error in housing benefit; a copy is available in the Library.
	Latest figures show that, in the last three years, local authorities have increased the number of prosecutions and sanctions for benefit fraud by more than 500 per cent. In 200304, local authorities carried out 2,667 prosecutions and issued 6,289 cautions and penalties.
	The Verification Framework is intended to detect and prevent fraudulent claims and sets a minimum standard of evidence needed for a claim to be assessed. Of the 348 authorities which have received funds to implement the Verification Framework scheme, 301 are fully compliant, with a further 37 being compliant in at least one of the modules. Verification Framework funding of 224 million has been made available for the three years from April 2003, with an additional 8 million being made available to local authorities to assist them with the change from the current VF scheme to a new regime introduced in April 2004.
	From 5 April 2004, the Department is providing local authorities with monthly data-matching and risk based reviews via the Housing Benefit Matching Service (HBMS). This will enable local authorities to identify fraud and error at an earlier stage than in the past, ensuring that any overpayments are kept to a minimum.

Pensioners

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Scotland receive council tax benefit.

Chris Pond: As at May 2002, there were 284,000 pensioner households receiving council tax benefit in Scotland, including 340,000 beneficiaries aged 60 or over.
	Notes:
	1. Pensioner households are defined as benefit units (which may be a single person or a couple) where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over.
	2. Beneficiaries are defined as claimants and partners who are aged 60 or over.
	3. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
	4. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
	5. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
	Source:
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit annual summary statistics, May 2002.

Pensioners

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of over-payments to pensioners in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		Cost of benefit overpayments to pensioners
		
			  Volume Value () 
		
		
			 19992000 111,599 26,074,886 
			 200001 140,795 42,333,932 
			 200102 201,260 87,619,329 
			 200203 156,189 58,192,614 
			 200304 149,554 51,428,186 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.   Records are not available prior to 19992000.
	2.   Data for 19992000 and 200001 is based on overpayments of Attendance Allowance and Retirement Pension.
	3.   From 2001, data includes Income Support paid to claimants over the age of 65.
	4.   From 2003, overpayments of Pension Credit are included.
	Source:
	Central Debt Management System

Pensioners

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place to enable pensioners who have been over-paid to pay sums back to the Department.

Malcolm Wicks: There are various procedures in place to enable pensioners who have been overpaid to repay sums to the Department. The method of repayment will depend on the particular circumstances of the case; our aim being to recover the money in a cost effective manner without causing unnecessary hardship to the customer.
	Customers are notified of an overpayment and given one calendar month to pay the amount in full or to arrange payment by instalment. The notification includes full details of how to repay, how to appeal and how to get further help and advice.
	Where the customer is not able to repay the amount in a single lump sum, payment by instalments can be negotiated. As the majority of pensioners receive payments from the Department, the preferred method of recovery by instalments is through direct deduction from their entitlement.
	Both lump sum and instalment payments can also be made by Cheque, Postal Order, Girobank, Transcash, Direct Debit, Switch or Delta.

Seasonal Fruit Pickers

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what standards his Department has in place to cover regimes of temporary accommodation sites housing seasonal fruit pickers.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 24 May 2004
	The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 set specific requirements about the safety of gas systems in accommodation that is provided for an occupant who is not the owner of that accommodation.
	The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places general requirements on all work activity to be performed in a way that does not jeopardise the health and safety of the workers involved, or people affected by work activity. Those general requirements could apply to work that is done to maintain or repair temporary accommodation and hence offer some further protection to those using this type of accommodation.

Shanklin Jobcentre

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent in the last 12 months, and how much is planned to be spent in the next 12 months, on upgrading premises and equipment at Shanklin Jobcentre.

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Jobcentre Plus.
	Letter from David Anderson to Andrew Turner, dated 27 May 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question concerning how much money has been spent on upgrading the premises and equipment at Shanklin Jobcentre in the last 12 months and plans for expenditure in the next 12 months. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Shanklin Jobcentre has not required any works in the last 12 months other than routine maintenance; therefore no monies have been spent on upgrading the building. However, in line with the national programme of upgrading the IT systems in all offices, Shanklin Jobcentre's IT system has been upgraded. We are unable to give the precise cost involved as it was funded from the national programme.
	Due to the current roll-out plans of Jobcentre Plus services to the Isle of Wight we have no plans for expenditure over the next 12 months.
	I hope this is helpful.

Part-time Workers (State Assistance)

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what state assistance is available to people without health impediments or caring responsibilities who only work between 17 and 19 hours a week.

Chris Pond: Adults aged 25 or over who usually work 30 hours or more a week may be eligible for working tax credit. It can also be paid to people who work 16 hours or more a week who are aged 16 or over and responsible for at least one child, or are disabled. However people without children or a disability, working between 17 and 19 hours a week would only be eligible for working tax credit if they were aged 50 or over and were returning to work after at least 6 months on one or more of a range of out-of-work benefits.
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit run-on is also available to help with the transition to work. This allows certain qualifying claimants of income support and jobseekers allowance to continue to receive housing benefit and council tax benefit for up to four weeks after starting work. In April 2004, a similar provision was announced for those in receipt of incapacity benefits.

Sure Start (Manchester)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many mothers in Manchester, Central have made use of the Sure Start maternity grant.

Chris Pond: The data is not available in the format requested, the available information is in the table.
	
		Sure Start maternity grants
		
			  Applications Awards 
		
		
			 For Manchester Central, Manchester South, Manchester Trinity and Oldham Social Fund Districts 
			 200001 5,061 4,147 
			 200102 5,719 4,596 
			 2002 to December 5,055 4,013 
			 For area covered by Manchester Jobcentre Plus 
			 2003 January to March 1,039 889 
			 200304 4,708 3,635 
			 2004 April 421 337 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Manchester, Central parliamentary constituency was not included in a single Social Fund District, but used to be part of the area covered by Manchester, Central, Manchester South, Manchester Trinity and Oldham Social Fund Districts. Manchester Central parliamentary constituency is now part of Manchester Jobcentre Plus District. The latter was formed in January 2003 from Manchester Central, Manchester South and Manchester Trinity Social Fund Districts, together with part of Oldham Social Fund District. The two areas for which data are given above are different, therefore the data are not comparable.
	2. Sure Start maternity grants were introduced on 27 March 2000. The very small number of cases for 19992000 have been excluded for data protection reasons.
	3. Data is given for all applications and awards, irrespective of whether the application was made by the mother or her partner. Source:
	DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) members and (b) representatives of the provisional government of Afghanistan on the (i) security situation and (ii) requirements for increased foreign involvement in Afghanistan in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: We regularly discuss these issues with the Afghan Transitional Administration at a range of levels. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Kabul in March this year and discussed issues including security and foreign involvement in Afghanistan with various members and representatives of the Afghan government.
	This followed a similar visit in July 2003. The Foreign Secretary also addressed these issues with President Karzai and members of his government during the President's visit to the UK in June 2003. I visited Kabul in October 2003 and also met President Karzai and other members of the Afghan government in Berlin on 1 April 2004. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Bill Rammell) visited Kabul on 46 May this year and met President Karzai and other Ministers.
	The security situation remains a problem, particularly in the South and East. Sporadic attacks continue against both international and Afghan forces, as well as the UN and NGOs. Fighting between Afghan forces also occurs. The international community, including the UK, is responding with increased commitments of troops and resources, including by extending the network of Provincial Reconstruction Teams. In the long-term, Afghanistan must be able to maintain its own security, through an effective national army and police force. Work to recruit and train those has been under way for some time, with the UK's active support and involvement.
	On 1 March 2004 DFID announced (an increase of the UK's commitment, from 200 million over five years to at least 500 million over the same period. This funding is to support a range of reconstruction work, support for conflict prevention, and the counter-narcotics effort. A booklet outlining DFID's program in Afghanistan has been placed in the Library of the House. International donors demonstrated their commitment to Afghanistan at the Berlin Conference held on 31 March1 April 2004 by pledging US$8.2 billion of assistance over the next three years. This represents two thirds of Afghanistan's requirements over this period. We hope that the full requirement will be met through more money becoming available from donors that were only able to make one-year pledges in Berlin.

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of developments over the last 12 months of the security situation in (a) central, (b) northern, (c) eastern, (d) western and (e) southern Afghanistan; what recommendations concerning troop contributions his Department has made; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Central Afghanistan, in general, is reasonably secure, assisted by the presence of the New Zealand-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) based in Bamiyan and the new PRT in Oruzgan Province. Northern Afghanistan is generally stable but is subject to long-standing tensions between the two biggest factions in the region. The UK-led PRT based in Mazar-e Sharif has helped defuse tensions and a second UK-led PRT is now being established in Faryab Province. There tend to be fewer security incidents in the west. A flare-up of fighting in Herat followed the death of the Afghan Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism in March but units of the Afghan National Army (ANA) calmed the situation.
	Security in the south and east is worrying. There have been murders of international and Afghan aid workers. Seven PRTs have been established in the south and east to help improve the security environment. Coalition forces and units of the ANA continue to pursue terrorists, especially along the border with Pakistan. The Pakistani army is playing its part in ensuring that perpetrators of attacks in Afghanistan cannot easily find refuge in Pakistan.
	The international community, including the UK, is responding to the need for security with increased commitments of troops and resources. Additional PRTs are the key to expanding the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The UK has agreed to lead a second PRT and provide a Forward Support Base for all PRTs in the North. But ISAF expansion can only proceed once NATO's statement ofrequirements is fully met. We are pressing other nations to contribute the resources needed to meet remaining shortfalls.

Afghanistan

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) members and (b) representatives of the provisional Government of Afghanistan concerning the timing of elections; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: We regularly discuss arrangements for the elections with members of the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA) at all levels; I discussed this subject with President Karzai and other members of the ATA in Berlin on 1 April.
	President Karzai announced on 28 March that national elections would be held in September 2004. The Joint Elections Monitoring Board, a joint Afghan Government and UN body, is currently leading preparations while an electoral law is finalised. The UK is committed to supporting the electoral process. Last year we contributed 10.55 million to support election registration, we have pledged a further 0.5 million for voter education and 2.77 million to support preparations for the elections themselves. We are working with the UN, international partners and NATO to consider how the international community can assist and can support the Afghan Government in delivering security for the election process.

Israel

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the Israeli Government about the situation of the Bedouins in the Negev.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not recently raised this issue with the Israeli Government. In August 2003 our embassy in Tel Aviv raised with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs the situation of the Bedouin, including plans for development of the Negev, and government action to improve the standard of health among the Bedouin. During her visit to Israel in October 2003, my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean discussed the plight of the Bedu with representatives of several Israeli human rights groups.

Departmental Buildings

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many buildings in England owned by his Department are used at less than 25 per cent. capacity for more than three months of the year.

Denis MacShane: None.

EU Enlargement (Benefit Restriction)

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors underlay the decision of the Government to restrict benefit opportunities for nationals of EU accession states; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply
	The Government strongly support the accession to the European Union of the new member states. We intend to open our borders to those who genuinely want to come and work here. This will benefit the UK economy, expanding the range of skills and supply of workers available across the UK. People from the accession countries who are legally working in the UK will have the right to reside in the UK while in work.
	However, we need to take measures to protect our social security system from possible abuse. Regulations were laid on 30 April 2004 making it a requirement that a person has the right to reside in the UK, as well as being habitually resident, in order to claim income-related benefits. Workers who are legally working in the UK and who are on low income may qualify for housing benefit and council tax benefit as well as child benefit and tax credits.

Iraq

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who is responsible for deciding on the use of oil assets in Iraq.

Chris Mullin: As agreed in UNSCR 1483, DFI funds are disbursed at the direction of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), in consultation with the Iraqi interim administration, to meet the needs of the Iraqi people. UNSCR 1483 also noted the establishment of an audit oversight body for the DFIthe International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB). The IAMB is charged with ensuring that DFI funds are used in a transparent manner and for the purposes for which they were disbursed.
	The Iraqi Ministry of Finance and of Planning and Development Co-operation working with the CPA have published Budgets for 2003 and 2004 which outline the use of oil revenues in public expenditure in Iraq (Budget information can be found on the CPA website at http://www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/). In addition a Programme Review Board (PRB) has been established to enable emergency off-budget expenditure (decisions made by the PRB can be found at http://www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/program   review   board.html).

Iraq

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many barrels of oil have been exported from Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein; what value this represents; and what use has been made of these funds within Iraq.

Chris Mullin: All proceeds from the export sale of Iraq's oil are deposited in the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), as agreed in United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1483. As of 17 May 2004 approximately US$ 9.4 billion had been deposited into the DFI from the export sale of oil since 28 May 2003.
	Information on the volume of oil exports from Iraq by month can be found on the US Department of Defense website at http://www.defendamerica.mil/. Average crude oil exports for each month since June 2003 to April 2004 are as follows:
	
		
			  Monthly average crude oil exports from Iraq millions of barrels per day 
		
		
			 June 2003 0.2 
			 July 2003 0.322 
			 August 2003 0.646 
			 September 2003 0.983 
			 October 2003 1.149 
			 November 2003 1.524 
			 December 2003 1.541 
			 January 2004 1.537 
			 February 2004 1.382 
			 March 2004 1.825 
			 April 2004 1.804 
		
	
	As determined in UNSCR 1483 all DFI funds are to be used in a transparent manner to meet the needs of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi Ministry of Finance and of Planning and Development Co-operation working with the CPA have published Budgets for 2003 and 2004 which outline the use of oil revenues in public expenditure in Iraq (Budget information can be found on the CPA website at http://www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/). Disbursements have included support of food production and distribution programmes, currency exchange programmes, electricity and oil infrastructure programmes, equipment for Iraqi security forces, and Iraqi civil service salaries and ministry budget operations.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he has made to the Israeli Government regarding its refusal to register children born in the occupied territories to parents of mixed Israeli/Palestinian origin;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Israeli Government following its decision to prohibit Israelis married to residents of the Occupied Territories to live with their spouses in East Jerusalem.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not raised these issues with the Israeli Government. During her visit to Israel in October 2003, my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean discussed the legislation which is behind such discriminatory treatment of Arab Israelis with several human rights groups. Our concerns about the impact of the citizenship law were subsequently raised by British Embassy staff on 7 October 2003 with the Israeli Ministry of the Interior.

Sudan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution his Department is making to the monitoring of the ceasefire in southern Sudan.

Denis MacShane: The Government have contributed over 460,000 to the Verification Monitoring Team (VMT), which is responsible for investigating and reporting on breaches of the Memorandum of Understanding on the cessation of hostilities in southern Sudan. We are currently considering a further, significant contribution. The Government have provided four members to staff to work for the VMT.

Sudan

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will consult other members of the United Nations Security Council with a view to securing an emergency session of the Security Council to address the situation in Darfur, Sudan;
	(2)  what diplomatic measures his Department (a) has taken in the past month and (b) plans to take in relation to the situation in Darfur, Sudan.

Denis MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Mullin) to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Ladywood (Clare Short) on 25 May 2004, Official Report, columns 157172W).
	Darfur was discussed at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 26 April and 17 May, and the UN Security Council was briefed about the situation on 2 April and 7 May. Since then, our Permanent Representative to the UN in New York has been working closely with other Security Council members, notably the US, France and Germany, to ensure that the Security Council remains focused on the crisis. We will continue to consider with all partners what further we can do to alleviate the situation.

Sudan

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government supported the addition of Sudan to the UN's Human Rights Committee; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Bill Rammell) to the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir John Stanley) on 24 May 2004 Official Report, columns 1363W136W.

Sudan

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the attacks on civilians and displacement of communities in the Shilluk Kingdom in Sudan.

Denis MacShane: We are very concerned by reports of fighting in the Upper Nile region of Sudan, and, in particular that civilians have been targeted. Estimates suggest that between 7080,000 people have now been   displaced and non-governmental organisations in   the area have reported that services in the town are   becoming increasingly stretched. Though we understand that fighting has decreased since 3 May, the humanitarian situation is likely to deteriorate further with the onset of seasonal rains.
	We are following the situation closely and are in contact with all parties in the area, including the Verification and Monitoring Team which is responsible for investigating and reporting on breaches of the cessation of hostilities. We raised the matter with the Sudanese Foreign Minister during his visit to London on 11 May.

United States

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the United States Supreme Court concerning the Alien Torts Act.

Denis MacShane: The Government, together with the Australian and Swiss Governments, filed an amicus brief in the US Supreme Court on 23 January 2004 in the Sosa v. Alvarez case which may serve as a test case for the US Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The concern addressed by the Government's amicus brief is the use of the ATS to bring suits for damages brought by non-US nationals or companies in relation to events occurring outside the US. The US Supreme Court is expected to rule on the ATS case at the end of June. A copy of the amicus brief will be placed in the Library of the House.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Student Loan Company

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will alter the rules governing the Student Loan Company Ltd. so that interest on loans is not charged when a former student is engaged in voluntary work.

Alan Johnson: We have no plans to remove the interest rate on student loans for graduates doing voluntary work. Student loans are already made on exceptionally favourable terms. There is a real terms zero rate of interest on these loans in line with inflation, as defined by the Retail Prices Index. Currently, graduates involved with voluntary work who are earning less than 10,000 do not have to make repayments. That amount will rise to 15,000 in April 2005.

Further Education

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on further education funding.

Alan Johnson: The Government have set out their investment plans for 200304 to 200506 to support its Success for All strategy to reform further education and training. These plans enable the Learning and Skills Council to increase funding for further education significantly. For the academic year 2003/04, core funding rates per qualification increased by 3 per cent. for school sixth forms and 4.5 per cent. for further education colleges (setting aside the impact on rates of changes to targeted funds for pay and staff training and teachers' pension funding). Our expenditure plans to 200506 should see that trend continue.

Further Education

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which further education colleges are participating in the (a) learning communities, (b) adult learners' grant and (c) employer training pilots; and what plans he has for take-up in North Staffordshire.

Alan Johnson: Further Education (FE) colleges are key partners in developing Learning Communities. Eleven test bed Learning Communities entered their development phase in April 2004 and a further 15 will be in place by September. Although, none of the test beds are located in North Staffordshire, there are proposals for two learning communities to be developed in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and the local FE colleges are closely involved. At this stage in the development of the test beds we do not have information on the FE colleges involved in the local partnerships.
	Adult Learning Grant (ALG) pilots are currently being operated in 10 local Learning and Skills Council areas. There are over 75 FE colleges and other providers (as seen in following Table) who have learners in receipt of an ALG in the pilot areas. From September 2004, there are plans to double the size of the current pilot by extending ALG throughout the two lead regionsthe South East and North East. There are no ALG pilots in the Staffordshire area and the area does not figure in the lead regions.
	There are currently 12 Employer Training Pilots in operation and, by September 2004, there will be 18 covering 20 local LSC areas. The LSC is responsible for managing the pilots, which involves 118 FE colleges (as seen in the following list) providing training and other services to help meet the skills needs of participating employers. At present there are no plans to extend the pilots to North Staffordshire.
	
		
			  FE colleges involved in ALGs 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire Bedford College 
			 Bedfordshire Barnfield College 
			 Bedfordshire Dunstable College 
			 Bedfordshire Luton Sixth Form College 
			 County Durham Bishop Auckland College 
			 County Durham New College, Durham 
			 County Durham East Durham and Houghall Community College 
			 County Durham Derwentside College 
			 Devon and Cornwall Truro College 
			 Devon and Cornwall Penwith College 
			 Devon and Cornwall North Devon College 
			 Devon and Cornwall Plymouth College of Art and Design 
			 Devon and Cornwall Plymouth College of Further Education 
			 Devon and Cornwall Cornwall College 
			 Devon and Cornwall Exeter College 
			 Devon and Cornwall Blcton College 
			 Devon and Cornwall East Devon College 
			 Devon and Cornwall South Devon College 
			 Devon and Cornwall Falmouth College of Art and Design 
			 Humberside John Leggott Sixth Form College 
			 Humberside Wilberforce College 
			 Humberside Franklin College 
			 Humberside East Riding College 
			 Humberside Wyke Sixth Form College 
			 Humberside Bishop Burton College 
			 Humberside Hull College 
			 Humberside Grimsby College 
			 Humberside North Lindsey College 
			 Humberside East Yorkshire College of Further Education 
			 Humberside Driffield School 
			 Lancashire Skelmersdale College 
			 Lancashire Blackburn College 
			 Lancashire Nelson and Colne College 
			 Lancashire Blackpool and The Fylde College 
			 Lancashire Lancaster and Morecambe College 
			 Lancashire Preston College 
			 Lancashire Accrington and Rossendale College 
			 Lancashire Runshaw College 
			 Lancashire Burnley College 
			 Lancashire Myerscough College 
			 Lancashire Cardinal Newman College 
			 Lancashire St. Mary's College, Blackburn 
			 Leicestershire Gateway Sixth Form College 
			 Leicestershire Regent College 
			 Leicestershire South Leicestershire College 
			 Leicestershire Loughborough College 
			 Leicestershire Stephenson College 
			 Leicestershire Brooksby Melton College 
			 Leicestershire Leicester College 
			 Leicestershire Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth 1 College 
			 London West Harrow College 
			 London West Uxbridge College 
			 London West Baling, Hammersmith and West London College 
			 London West Stanmore College 
			 London West West Thames College 
			 London West College of North West London 
			 Shropshire Ludlow College 
			 Shropshire New College, Telford 
			 Shropshire Telford College of Arts and Technology 
			 Shropshire Walford and North Shropshire College 
			 Shropshire Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology 
			 South Yorkshire Thomas Rotherham College 
			 South Yorkshire Dearne Valley College 
			 South Yorkshire Sheffield College 
			 South Yorkshire Rother Valley College 
			 South Yorkshire Rotherham College of Arts and Technology 
			 South Yorkshire Doncaster College 
			 South Yorkshire Barnsley College 
			 South Yorkshire Northern College 
			 The Black Country Halesowen College 
			 The Black Country Walsall College of Arts and Technology 
			 The Black Country Wolverhampton College 
			 The Black Country Sandwell College 
			 The Black Country Dudley College of Technology 
			 The Black Country Stourbridge College 
		
	
	FE Colleges and Work-Based Learning Providers involved in ETPs:
	Academy of Learning Ltd.
	Accrington and Rossendale College
	Adult Community College Colchester
	Adult Community College Chelmsford
	Anderson Business College Ltd.
	Babington Business College Ltd. (Derby)
	Barking College
	Basildon Adult Community College
	Berkshire College of Agriculture
	Bexley College
	Birmingham Academy Training Ltd.
	Birmingham College of Food Tourism and Creative Studies
	Birmingham Community College
	Bolton Community College
	Bournville College of Further Education
	Bracknell and Wokingham College
	Braintree College
	Brooksby Melton College
	Building Crafts College
	Burton College
	Bury College
	Canterbury College
	Catten College Ltd.
	Central Training Academy
	Chelmsford College
	Chesterfield College
	City College Manchester
	City of Sunderland College
	Colchester Institute
	Cricklade College
	Crown Secretarial College
	Derby College
	Derby Tertiary College Wilmorton
	East Berkshire College
	Eccles College
	Epping Forest College
	Gateshead College
	Greenwich Community College
	Hackney Community College
	Harlow College
	Harlow ITEC
	Havering College of Further and Higher Education
	Highbury CollegeWorkforce and Business Development
	Hopwood Hall College
	Institute of Refractories Engineers
	Intec Business Colleges PLC
	ITEC Learning Technologies
	Josiah Mason Sixth Form College
	Kingston Maurward College
	Leicester Adult Education College
	Leicester College
	Lewisham College
	Loughborough College
	Ludlow College
	Manchester College of Arts and Technology
	Matthew Boulton College of Further and Higher Education
	Mid-Kent College
	Moulton College F,E,C
	Myerscough College
	New College Swindon
	New College Telford
	Newbury College
	Newcastle College
	Newham College
	Newham College of Further Education
	North Hertfordshire College
	North Trafford College of Further Education
	North Tyneside Adult Basic Education
	North Tyneside College Silverlink Business training
	North Warwickshire and Hinckley College
	North West Kent College of technology
	Northumberland College
	Norton Radstock College
	Oaklands College
	Otley College of Agriculture and Horticulture
	Pendleton College
	Preston College
	Queen Alexandra College
	Ridge Danyers College
	Salisbury College
	Shipley College
	Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology
	Shrewsbury Sixth Form College
	Solihull College
	South Birmingham College
	South East Derbyshire College
	South East Essex College of Arts and technology
	South Kent College
	South Leicestershire College
	South Trafford College
	South Tyneside College
	Southend Adult Community College
	Sparsholt College Hampshire
	St. Helens College
	St. John Rigby College
	Stephenson College
	Stockport College of Further and Higher Education
	Sutton Coldfield College
	Swindon College
	Swindon College (Swindon 1)
	Tameside College
	Telford College of Arts and Technology
	Tendring Adult Community College
	Thanet College
	The Oldham College
	The Virtual College
	The Vocational College Ltd.
	Thurrock and Basildon College
	Tower Hamlets College
	University of Derby High Peak College
	Wakefield College
	Walford and North Shropshire College
	West Kent College
	West Nottinghamshire College
	Wigan and Leigh College
	Wiltshire College
	Wirral Metropolitan College
	Writtle College

Skill-based Qualifications

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to develop flexible skill-based qualifications.

Ivan Lewis: Creating an employment-led qualifications system for adults that responds quickly to changing skills needs is a key goal of the Government's Skills Strategy.
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is working with the Learning and Skills Council, the Sector Skills Development Agency and partners in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to develop a fully operational credit-based system across all sectors.

Overseas Students

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the annual number of overseas students coming to study in the UK after 2006.

Alan Johnson: My Department has no plans to estimate the number of overseas students who may come to the UK to study in the future.

Deferred University Entry

David Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people applied for deferred entry to university in 200304.

Alan Johnson: Figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions (UCAS) show that 18,930, or 12 per cent., of 18-year-olds who obtained a place on a full-time undergraduate course in autumn 2003, chose to defer entry.

Adult Education Spending

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public funding has been spent on adult (a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Blackpool North and Fleetwood in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The estimated total spend on Skills For Lifethe Government's strategy for literacy, language and numeracy needs of all post-16 learners from pre-entry level up to and including level 2and on Key Skills (essential skills of communication, application of number and information technology), from April 2001 to July 2003, in the Lancashire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area is set out in the table as follows:
	
		000
		
			  Basic skills Key skills 
		
		
			 April 2001 to July 2001(28) 3,370 1,270 
			 August 2001 to July 2002 6,577 1,857 
			 August 2002 to July 2003 7,815 1,948 
		
	
	(28)   The figures for April to July 2001 include costs incurred from August 2000 on learning aims continuing into April 2001.
	From the information available to the LSC it has not been feasible to obtain estimates at constituency level or separate figures by subject without incurring disproportionate cost. Likewise it has not been feasible to obtain comparable figures for periods before April 2001 when the Skills for Life strategy was launched and the LSC was formed, but information shows it was considerably less than at present.

Adult Learning and Skills

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that young people and their families are being prepared through the 13 to 19 curriculum for the effects of demographic changes to the workforce over the coming decade and possible skills mismatches.

David Miliband: The Government set out their strategy for the 1419 phase of education in their policy document, 1419: Opportunity and Excellence. They have asked the Working Group on 1419 Reform to recommend how there might be greater coherence in vocational learning programmes for all young people in their 1419 education and on a unified framework of qualifications suitable for all learners. The Group's interim report was published in February and its final report is expected in the Autumn. The Government have already taken action to bring work related and vocational education into the mainstream of the secondary system to help address skills needs. Among other measures: work related learning will become a statutory requirement for all at KS4 from September 2004; qualifications such as the GCSEs in vocational subjects have been introduced to extend the curriculum offer; and programmes such as Increased Flexibility for 1416 Year Olds and Young Apprenticeships will provide off-site placements and experience of work for students wanting more applied learning. The Skills Strategy, published in July 2003, set out an over-arching vision for equipping individuals and employers with the skills they need in order to increase productivity, increase personal returns and close the skills gaps with our international competitors.

Adult Learning and Skills

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how his Department is (a) balancing the targeted social welfare agenda and the skills agenda and (b) taking into account (i) the OECD review of career development, (ii) the inquiry by the Education and Skills Select Committee into skills strategy and (iii) changing workforce demography; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: In response to the hon. Member's first question, the Department is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to balance the targeted social welfare agenda and the skills agenda.
	The Skills Strategy White Paper21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential, published July 2003invited the National Employer Panel to look at this specific issue. The Panel reported in February 2004 with a number of recommendations. We are taking these forward these recommendations working with DWP, the LSC and Jobcentre Plus. Building on this report, in the Budget, the Chancellor announced a New Deal for Skills. This will focus on the low skilled who are on benefitsboth active and inactiveand help them acquire the skills they need for sustained employment.
	In response to his second question, the Education and Skills Select Committee started its inquiry into skills in January focusing initially on 14 to 19 agenda; it is currently on-going and is due to continue after the summer recess. We await the conclusions of the Committee's work with interest.
	The OECD report, Career Guidance and Public Policy: Bridging the Gap (published March 2004), highlighted some positive activity in the UK in relation to career guidance and good practice. We recognise that services such as the Connexions Service for young people, the work of Jobcentre Plus and the reform of IAG services for adults must take account of the demographic changes in the UK. I recognise that the demographic changes show that there will be an older workforce, and we must look to the integration of the skills and welfare agenda to both re-skill and up-skill older workers, and to support and encourage those people on benefits into work with appropriate training. That is why the New Deal for Skills agenda is so important.

Adult Skills

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the number of economically inactive adults without a level 2 qualification; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 25 May 2004
	According to the quarterly Labour Force Survey, in winter 2003/04 there were 2,862,000 economically inactive adults lacking a level 2 qualification (49.2 per cent. of an inactive population of 5,822,000).
	As we said in our Skills Strategy White Paper, 21st Century Skills, we will create a new guarantee of free tuition for any adult without a good foundation of employability skills to get the training they need to achieve such a qualification at level 2. We intend that it will apply to those in the workforce or of working ageincluding the economically inactive who are seeking those employability skillswho do not already have a full level 2 qualification, and who commit to trying to achieve one. The entitlement will be trialled in two regionsthe North East and the South Eastfrom September 2004. Subject to experience in the first year, we will roll out the entitlement nationally from September 2005.
	In the 2004 Budget the Chancellor announced a New Deal for Skills. This will focus on people with significant skills needs who are on benefitsboth active and inactiveand help them acquire the skills they need for sustained employment.

Adult Skills

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the number of economically inactive adults with a level 3 qualification; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 25 May 2004
	According to the quarterly Labour Force Survey, in Winter 2003/04 there were 1,903,000 economically inactive adults with a level 3 qualification (or higher), representing 32.7 per cent. of an inactive population of 5,822,000.
	We want to increase the number of people with level 3 qualifications that will enhance their employability. Working through Regional Skills Partnerships and Sector Skills Councils, priority skills needs will be identified so that learning undertaken at level 3 has greater impact for both individuals and employers as regional and sector skills priorities are addressed.
	In the 2004 Budget the Chancellor announced a New Deal for Skills. This will focus on people with significant skills needs who are on benefitsboth active and inactiveand help them acquire the skills they need for sustained employment.

Adult Skills

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to maintain adult skills provision at (a) basic, (b) level 2 and (c) level 3 in the Worthing area.

Ivan Lewis: The Government outlined their commitment to improving adult skills in 21st Century Skills published in July 2003 and has set challenging PSA targets for skills improvement in basic skills and at level 2.
	Sussex Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for planning and funding adult skills provision in Worthing through the main further education college, Northbrook College, and other learning providers including Worthing College and West Sussex Adult Education Service. Northbrook College, in its three-year development plan, outlined plans to maintain learner numbers at entry level, level 1 and level 3, with an increase in learners at level 2.
	Sussex LSC is working closely with local providers and partners, in order to ensure that the strategic area review delivers an improvement in the provision and that the needs of individuals and employers are being met effectively. Sussex LSC is also involved in the national pilot for level 2 entitlement to deliver free provision and financial support to adults without level 2 qualifications.
	In addition, Sussex LSC has established a Skills for Life Development Centre, in partnership with the South East England Development Agency to increase demand for, and improve, basic skills provision.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1715W, on asbestos, what monitoring procedures are in place to ensure schools have identified and recorded the position of asbestos; and what information his Department collects centrally on the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.

David Miliband: Responsibility for monitoring asbestos under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 rests with the owners of school premises. In the case of community schools, community special schools, voluntary controlled schools, maintained nursery schools and pupil referral units, this is the local education authority. With voluntary aided and foundation schools, it is the governing body. Any monitoring procedures in place would be co-ordinated by the local education authority.
	The Department does not collect information centrally on the implementation of these Regulations.

Building Schools for the Future Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's commitment, including private finance initiative credits, is for each successful wave one bid in the Building Schools for the Future initiative for each relevant fiscal year.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to response I have given him on 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 710W.

Bureaucracy

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) consultation documents, (b) regulations, (c) revised and corrected regulations, (d) guidance notes, (e) requests for statistical information and (f) letters from Ministers have been sent to (i) schools and (ii) local education authorities by his Department in each year from 199798 to 200304; what the cost to the Department was in each case; and how many required a response from (A) a local education authority, (B) a school and (C) a member of staff.

David Miliband: holding answer 25 May 2004
	We strictly monitor and gate-keep the information that we automatically send to schools. However, we do not have the information segmented in the way requested.
	The academic year 2002/03 saw a 50 per cent. reduction on the number of documents sent to all schools compared with the previous 2001/02 year. We will be reporting on the current academic year shortly.
	Going forward, we have successfully piloted an on-line ordering system that will enable schools to choose what information they want from the Department and when. This will put schools in control of what they receive.

Careers Advice

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that 13 to 19-year-olds in schools, colleges and in the workplace have access to impartial career advice and guidance which is informed by the changing labour markets.

Charles Clarke: Every 13 to 19-year-old in England has access to impartial careers advice from their local Connexions Partnership or, on-line, from Connexions Direct. Connexions Partnerships liaise with local employers and conduct labour market studies in order to help young people reach career decisions based on sound information about local and national labour market trends. Connexions also makes available national careers information products, which are developed in close collaboration with Sector Skills Councils to ensure they reflect employment trends and changing occupational requirements.

Careers Advice

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who has been invited to serve on the end to end review of careers education and guidance in England; and what the timetable is.

Margaret Hodge: The review team is made up of officials from the Department. The team has consulted a wide range of individuals and organisations. In total around 350 people will have been consulted by the end of May, including staff and students at several schools and colleges, young people taking part in a Connexions Direct user survey, a spread of Connexions Partnerships and representatives from the following organisations: Aim Higher; Association of Colleges; Association of Learning Providers; Careers England; CBI; CfBT; Construction Industry Training Board; Disability Rights Commission; Equal Opportunities Commission; e-skills UK; Go Skills; Government Offices; Guidance Council; Guidance Enterprises Group; HM Treasury; Institute of Careers Guidance; Learning and Skills Council; Local Government Association; National Association for Gifted and Talented Youth; National Association of Careers and Guidance Teachers; National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations; National Institute for Careers Education and Counselling; National Union of Teachers; Ofsted; Qualifications and Curriculum Authority; Secondary Heads Association; Sector Skills Development Agency; Selly Oak Hospital; Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities; skillsformedia; Universities for the North East; University of Northumbria I expect the review to conclude at the end of June.

Careers Advice

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the future of the private sector in providing careers guidance for young people.

Margaret Hodge: The Department values the contribution made by the private sector in providing careers guidance for young people. However, it is the responsibility of Connexions Partnerships to decide on the most appropriate way to deliver services for young people in their area. Connexions Partnerships are currently considering the most cost-effective means of delivering the service, and in some cases this may involve a change of structure. This does not necessarily mean that the position on sub-contracting to private providers changes. We have found an increasing number of areas are moving to a lead body model leaving private sector careers contracts in place.

Care Workers (Hygiene Training)

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many care workers working in private sector care homes were trained in basic hygiene through Learning and Skills Council funding in the last year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The information cannot be supplied in the time available. I shall write to my hon. Friend with the answer, in due course and place a copy of my letter in the House Library.

Child Care (Hull)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care places have been created in Hull, North since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 24 May 2004
	The Department is unable to provide details of child care places for Hull, North. However, from April 1999 to March 2004 Kingston upon Hull local authority created 5,221 new child care places helping some 9,267 children. This shows an increase in the stock of child care places, taking into account turnover, of 3,909 helping some 6,938 children.

Connexions

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the level and impact of reductions in the 200405 Connexions budget upon each of the Connexions partnerships; what criteria were used in forming the decision to make the reductions; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: It is too soon to assess the precise consequences of the reduction in VAT transitional funding for Connexions Partnerships but early indications are that the impact on the delivery of services to young people will be minimal. The key criterion used in forming this decision was to minimise any adverse impact on the front line services to young people.

Departmental Efficiency

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his policy is for (a) increasing the productivity and (b) cutting the costs of (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Stephen Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 10 May 2004, Official Report, columns 14849W.

Education Statistics (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils there were in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Brent in each year since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: A table giving the requested pupil information for all Parliamentary Constituencies have been placed in the House of Commons Library. Further details on the 2004 provisional figures by local education authority can be found on http://www.dfes.gov. uk/rsaatewav/DB/SFR/s000457/index.shtml

Graduates

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the first destination of first degree graduates was in each year since 1997; and how many and what percentage (a) found employment in the UK, (b) found employment overseas, (c) are undertaking further study, (d) are not available for employment, study or training and (e) are assumed to be unemployed.

Alan Johnson: The latest available information is taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) First Destination Supplement and is given in the table. Figures for 2002/03 graduates will be published in August 2004.
	
		UK domiciled, full-time first degree graduates with known first destination
		
			  Year of graduation 
			 Activity(29) 1997/98 1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 
		
		
			 Numbers  
			 Entering employment in the UK 115,200 116,290 112,250 114,905 114,165 
			 Entering employment overseas 4,340 4,430 4,620 4,450 3,875 
			 Further study/training 32,720 33,860 32,700 32,470 33,000 
			 Not available 8,260 9,820 10,220 11,365 11,040 
			 Seeking employment 12,150 11,805 10,970 13,225 14,295 
			 Total of known first destination 172,660 176,205 170,750 176,415 176,390 
			   
			 Percentages  
			 Entering employment in the UK 67 66 66 65 65 
			 Entering employment overseas 3 3 3 3 2 
			 Further study/training 19 19 19 18 19 
			 Not available 5 6 6 6 6 
			 Seeking employment 7 7 6 7 8 
			 Total of known first destination 100 100 100 100 100 
		
	
	(29) Based on the destinations of graduates six months after graduation.
	Note:
	Totals may not sum due to founding.
	Source:
	HESA

Headquarters Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff were employed in the Department to work in the communications field, and what the total expenditure on communications for the Department was, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others, in (A) 199495, (B) 199697, (C) 199798 and (D) 200102.

Charles Clarke: Available information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number Cost () 
		
		
			 GICs staff excluding press officers 
			 199495 50  
			 199697 50  
			 199798 43  
			 200102 39 1,004,255 
			
			 GICs press officers   
			 199495 20.5  
			 199697 19  
			 199798 20.5  
			 200102 23 1,265,626 
		
	
	There are no press officers from outside the Government Information and Communications Service (GICs). Figures on the number of other non-GICs communications staff and financial data prior to 200102 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister. This includes communications activity. Details of the costs of special advisers are given on an annual basis. Information for the financial year 200304 will be published in due course.

Healthy Eating Schemes

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) advice and (b) guidance he has issued to local education authorities regarding their implementation of healthy eating schemes.

Stephen Twigg: In April 2001 the Department introduced minimum nutritional standards for school lunches that prescribe the types of food to be available and the frequency of their availability.
	To assist with the implementation of the standards, the Department has produced complementary guidance for schools and local education authorities entitled Healthy School Lunches. The guidance provides examples of good catering practice and suggestions to encourage healthy eating.

Level 2 Qualifications

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adults in work were studying for their second level 2 qualification in each year since 2001.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 26 May 2004
	Data on the number of adults studying for their second level 2 qualification are not available.

Part-time Students

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 16 to 19-year-olds were studying part-time in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 26 May 2004
	The numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds participating in part-time education in England for end 2001 and end 2002 (the latest available provisional estimates) are shown in the table. The data shown in the table are snapshot information as at the end of the calendar years.
	
		
			  Number of part-time students(30) 
		
		
			 End 2001 114,600 
			 End 2002 2 108,000 
		
	
	(30) This comprises of those participating in part-time education as part of Government supported work based learning (WBL), employer funded training (EFT) and other education and training (OET).
	(31) Provisional.

Pre-schools

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many registered pre-schools there are in the UK.

Margaret Hodge: My Department estimates that there were 10,100 pre-schools or playgroups in England in January 2003.
	Information on early years education in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Education Department of the Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Executive and the Department for Education for Northern Ireland respectively.
	Provisional national estimates for January 2004 on provision for children under five in England will be published on 27 May in a Statistical Release Provision for children under five years of age in EnglandJanuary 2004, a copy of which is available on the Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.

Press Officers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many press officers were employed in his Department in each year from 199091 to 200304; what the total cost was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Twigg: The table as follows sets out number of press officers employed in the Department for Education and Skills and its predecessors. We are unable to provide information on the number of press officers employed by the Department from 199091 to 199596 without incurring disproportionate cost. Information for 199697 to 199899 is available from appendix 10 of the Sixth Report from the Select Committee on Public Administration, entitled Government Information and Communication Service, published on 29 July 1998 (www.publications.parliament.uk).
	
		
			  Number of Press Officers Actual salaries spend () 
		
		
			 19992000 28 1,110,589 
			 200001 28 1,246,588 
			 200102 23 1,265,626 
			 200203 23 1,192,645 
			 200304 18 1,352,041

School Choice

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many of the national cohort of students were admitted to their first choice secondary school in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by local education authority.

David Miliband: The information requested is not collected centrally.

School Meals (Stroud)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children received free school meals in the constituency of Stroud in each year since 1997 for which figures are available.

Stephen Twigg: Tables giving requested free school meals information for all parliamentary constituencies have been placed in the House of Commons Library. Further details on the 2004 provisional figures on free school meals by local education authority can be found on http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000457/index. shtml.

Schools (Capital Investment)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 710W, on schools (capital investment), whether all wave one plans will need to include provision for a city academy prior to approval by the Department.

David Miliband: holding answer 24 May 2004
	Academiesand new or reformed schools including academy featuresshould form a key part of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) plans, whether the replacement or improvement of failing or weaker schools, or the creation of new schools. The Government expect local projects to provide a proper evaluation of academy options; such reform is critical to demonstrate the expected impact on educational standards of large-scale capital investment. We also encourage local education authorities to engage directly with potential academy sponsors as part of the BSF preparation and evaluation.

Schools (Computers)

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been spent on computers for schools in Blackpool North and Fleetwood in each of the last seven years.

Charles Clarke: My Department does not collect information on school spend on computers at constituency level. However, Blackpool North and Fleetwood is in Blackpool LEA and in the last seven years schools in Blackpool have benefited from the following funding through the Standards Fund grant for ICT (including match funding from the LEA):
	
		
			  Allocation to Blackpool LEA () 
		
		
			 199899 233,891 
			 19992000 376,443 
			 200001 471,538 
			 200102 531,056 
			 200203 750,176 
			 200304 774,460 
			 200405 1,021,894

Special Educational Needs

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004, Official Report, column 712W, on special educational needs, what steps he is taking to ensure that teachers who qualified more than five years ago have appropriate training to identify and to respond to the special needs of children in school settings.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 21 May 2004
	All teachers, irrespective of when they qualified, are expected to identify their developmental needs through performance management arrangements, and to address identified needs, including improving their teaching skills in the area of special educational needs, by undertaking appropriate professional development.
	SEN training needs can be identified by using the 'National SEN Specialist Standards' published by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) in December 1999, which covers the key outcomes, the professional knowledge and understanding, and skills and attributes required, and the key areas of their role and responsibilities. The TTA have also produced a related CD-ROM, 'Identifying your Training Needs for Teaching Pupils with SEN', released in February 2002.
	All schools receive a School Development Grant which they are able to use to support improvements in any aspect of teaching and learning. Local authorities may retain a proportion of this grant, under certain conditions, to provide specific training and development for SEN.
	How far a school provides for pupils with SEN will be assessed as part of the usual school inspection arrangements made by the Office for Standards in Education.

Special Educational Needs

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on his policy on the inclusion of pupils with special needs in mainstream schools.

Ivan Lewis: We are firmly committed to the principle of inclusion and an increasing proportion of children with special educational needs attend mainstream schools. Special schools will continue to have an important role in meeting need both in their own right and in partnership with local mainstream schools.

Work Permits

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) representations he has received and (b) discussions he has had with representatives from the governments of (i) India, (ii) Jamaica, (iii) China, (iv) Russia, (v) South Africa and (vi) Zimbabwe about the issuing of work permits to workers from those countries to work in the UK education sector; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I have neither received any representations from, nor had any discussions with, these Governments in connection with work permits.

HEALTH

Care Homes

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 13 May 2004, Official Report, columns 57677W, on care homes, how many care homes were closed in (a) 200203 and (b) 200304, due to an anonymous complaint; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the information requested is not collected in the form requested. Care homes may close for a number of reasons, including as a result of enforcement action by CSCI or by the provider voluntarily deregistering the service. Complaints may only be one of a number of circumstances which lead to a home closing. It would not therefore be possible or accurate to ascribe reasons for home closure directly to complaints.

Drug Labelling

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made since the Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin report of 2001 to ensure that all new drugs are labelled with a black triangle warning.

Rosie Winterton: The black triangle scheme is intended to facilitate the intensive monitoring of new medicines for which there is relatively limited safety data available. A black triangle symbol is used in the product information to identify the medicines for which the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) request health professionals to report all suspected adverse reactions rather than serious reactions alone. This is a voluntary scheme and, while use of the symbol is not a legal requirement, it is expected that marketing authorisation holders (MAHs) will use the black triangle symbol where requested to do so by the MHRA.
	Following the publication of a survey in Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin in 2001 entitled, Failings in treatment advice, SPCs and black triangles, the MHRA formally reviewed the use of the black triangle symbol on product information. Companies were requested to submit summaries of product characteristics (SPCs) and promotional material for their products under intensive monitoring and it was subsequently found that approximately 9 per cent. did not display the symbol on their material. Importantly, the review found that all black triangle products had the symbol routinely displayed in the British National Formulary (BNF) and the monthly index of medical specialities (MIMS). These publications are widely used by health professionals when prescribing medicines. This was due to active liaison between the MHRA and MIMS and the BNF. During the review, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry was also contacted and undertook to inform new companies of the scheme.
	As a routine measure, the advertising unit at the MHRA reviews advertisements for new products in a selection of key published journals, and the assessment includes checking to see if the black triangle symbol is displayed. In accordance with published criteria, the unit may also ask a company to submit all promotional material to the MHRA for pre-vetting. Any omission of the black triangle symbol is brought to the immediate attention of the company, who would be asked to re-submit an amended advertisement. In general, companies are found to comply with the scheme for incorporating the black triangle symbol on their promotional material.

Elderly Care Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of recipients of intermediate care services had mental health problems in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally.

Health Food Industry

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Minister of Health responsible for consumer affairs declined the request of the Health Food Manufacturers' Association to meet to discuss issues facing the industry.

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to meet representatives of the food supplements industry to discuss progress with the Food Supplements Directive;
	(2)what plans he has to meet Commissioner Byrne to discuss the Food Supplements Directive.

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has held on the impact of the European Food Supplements Directive on the food supplements industry; and what the results of the discussions were;
	(2)  what plans he has to meet (a) Commissioner Byrne and (b) food supplements industry representatives to discuss the impact of the Food Supplements Directive on the food supplements industry.

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet representatives of natural health food companies to discuss the Food Supplements Directive.

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he or the Minister for his Department will meet representatives of the health food industry on matters relating to the proposed EU Directive on vitamin and mineral supplements.

Melanie Johnson: Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements came into force on 12 July 2002. The Food Supplements Regulations England 2003, which implement the Directive in England, were laid before Parliament in June 2003 and the provisions are set to come into force on 1 August 2005. There is parallel legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
	In October 2003, I had a useful meeting with representatives of the health food industry to discuss their concerns over the potential impact of the Directive, particularly relating to the submission of safety dossiers to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and to the future setting of European maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements.
	Since then there has been a constructive meeting, facilitated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), between industry representatives and representatives of the EFSA to discuss safety dossiers.
	In addition, I recently set out the Government's views on the setting of maximum limits to Commissioner David Byrne. The EFSA is continuing work on safe upper limits for intakes of vitamins and minerals begun by the Scientific Committee on Food. It is not expected to complete this work until Summer 2005 at the earliest. The Commission will not publish a proposal on European Union maximum limits until this work is complete. Commissioner Byrne and I agreed to talk again when the EFSA's advice has been published and, if appropriate, meet. In the meantime, officials continue to press the case for safety based maximum limits in all the relevant European forums. They are keeping in close contact with the Commission officials, who will in due course draft the proposal on EU maximum limits. I have asked for progress reports.
	I am willing to meet food supplement industry representatives again. However, I have suggested to them that, before such a meeting takes place, it would be useful for industry technical advisors to meet FSA officials to discuss detailed technical issues relating to dossiers and then for the industry to gain experience of submitting such dossiers to the EFSA.

Home Care (Charges)

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) monitoring, (b) evaluation and (c) review of the new system of charges for home care he is carrying out.

Stephen Ladyman: We plan in due course to monitor and evaluate the impact of the guidance on Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care.

Mental Health

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England have (a) died and (b) been injured by hanging themselves from a ligature point in the suspended ceiling of an acute mental health unit between 1 September 2001 and 18 March 2004.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 17 May 2004
	This information is not collected centrally.

Mental Health

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will bring forward proposals setting out a timetable for pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft mental health bill.

Rosie Winterton: A revised and completed Mental Health Bill will be brought forward for pre-legislative scrutiny in this session.

Ministerial Visits

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list visits made by each Minister in the Department between December 2003 and April 2004, broken down by (a) date, (b) constituency visited and (c) cost.

Rosie Winterton: Between December 2003 and April 2004 departmental Ministers have undertaken 81 visits. The Department does not have information on constituencies visited or the cost of visits individually.

National Service Framework for Older People

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sanctions will be taken against strategic health authorities that have not achieved the milestones in the national service framework for older people.

Stephen Ladyman: Planning for and implementing the majority of the milestones in the national service framework for older people is the direct responsibility of strategic health authorities (SHAs). Information is not collected centrally on progress with these. The milestones on intermediate care, stroke services, falls services and services for older adults with mental health problems, set out in the 200306 priorities and planning framework, are reflected in SHAs' local delivery plans (LDPs). The Department performance manages SHA service delivery against the range of agreed LDP targets through its quarterly monitoring process.

NHS Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how he plans to measure the impact of the proposals in Options for Change for increasing the number of NHS dental registrations; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)how progress on Options for Change will be monitored; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The base contract and permanent personal dental services (PDS) contract will require a new national health service dentistry activity return, which is currently under development. This will provide information on patient numbers and dental activity under the new arrangements and will enable comparisons with previous trends.

NHS Dentistry

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter from Mr. Geoffrey Morgan of Milford-on-Sea regarding NHS dentistry of 26 February.

Rosie Winterton: A reply was sent to Mr. Morgan on 5 April 2004.

Primary Health Care

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary health care staff work in the Coventry area.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		General medical practitioners(32), practice staff(33) employed by unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs)(34), and national health service hospital and community health services: primary healthcare nursing for Coventry Primary Care Trust (headcount).
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 General medical practitioners(32) 183 
			 Practice staff(33) 611 
			 of which:  
			 Practice nurses 132 
			   
			 HCHS primary healthcare nursing 492 
			 of which:  
			 Health visitors 71 
			 District nurses 43 
			 Community psychiatry nurses 84 
			 Community learning disabilities nurses 35 
			 Other community services nurses(35) 259 
			 Total 1,286 
		
	
	Notes:
	(32) All practitioners include UPEs, restricted principals, assistants, GP registrars, salaried doctors (para 52 SFA), PMS other, GP retainers, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	(33) Practice staff includes practice nurses, direct patient care, admin and clerical and other.
	(34) UPEs include QMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPs.
	(35) Other community services nurses are nurses working in community services other than health visitors and district nurses.
	Sources:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Public Bodies

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times a year the Board of the National Patient Safety Agency is scheduled to meet; and when it last met.

Rosie Winterton: The board of the National Patient Safety Agency is scheduled to meet in public every two months. The last meeting took place on 12 May 2004.

Public Bodies

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 30 April 2004, Official Report, column 1354W, if he will list those bodies which are still in existence.

Rosie Winterton: The following departmental task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews are still in existence:
	Adoption and permanence task force is now sponsored by the Department for Education and Skills.
	Cancer task force.
	Children's task force.
	Coronary heart disease task force.
	Mental health task force.
	National health service modernisation board.
	The scientific committee on tobacco and health/advisory committee on the misuse of drugs working group on cannabis and tobacco smoking.
	National users panel of the community equipment services external reference group.
	Interagency working group to develop a memorandum of understanding between the Department, the Police and the Health and Safety Executive.
	NHS information technology task force.
	Patient environment steering group.
	Practice learning task force.
	Work force task force.
	Advisory committee for topic selection.
	Advisory group for genetics research.
	Agenda for Change central negotiating group.
	Children's national service framework strategy group.
	Expert group on mental health in prisons.
	Implementation board for modernising NHS hospital medicines manufacturing.

Public Bodies

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often the British Pharmacopoeia Commission is scheduled to convene; and on what date it last met.

Rosie Winterton: The British Pharmacopoeia Commission is scheduled to meet four times per year. The date of its last meeting was 15 March 2004.

Public Service Agreements

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of his Department's public service agreement targets for (a) 2000 and (b) 2002 have been superseded.

Rosie Winterton: It is too early to say what the 2004 public service agreement targets will be. The next set of targets are due to be announced by the Government in the summer.

Stroke

Andy King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffered a stroke in the last year in (a) Rugby and Kenilworth and (b) England.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Primary diagnosis (ICD-10 160169) cerebrovascular diseases. -- Count of finished admission episodes for selected primary care trusts (PCTs) of residence and England national health service hospitals, 200203
		
			 Primary diagnosis code   Description North Warwickshire PCT  Rugby PCT   England 
		
		
			 160 Subarachnoid haemorrhage 20 14  
			 161 Intracerebral haemorrhage 20 17  
			 162 Other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 23 *  
			 163 Cerebral infarction 63 71  
			 164 Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction 159 34  
			 165 Occlusion and stenosis of precerebral arteries, not resulting in cerebral infarction * 8  
			 166 Occlusion and stenosis of cerebral arteries, not resulting in cerebral infarction *   
			 167 Other cerebrovascular diseases 16 *  
			 168 Cerebrovascular disorders in diseases classified elsewhere
			 169 Sequelae of cerebrovascular disease
			 160169 Cerebrovascular Diseases 317 156 1 
		
	
	Notes:
	Finished admission episodes
	A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
	The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital
	Ungrossed Data
	Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Low numbers
	Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 at PCT level have been suppressed and replaced with * (an asterisk).
	Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health

DEFENCE

Chagos Islands

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) Royal Military Police and (b) members of the Adjutant-General's Corps (Military Provost Staff) have been deployed on (i) Diego Garcia and (ii) other Chagos Islands since October 2001.

Geoff Hoon: There is one established Royal Military Police post within the Chagos Archipelagos on Diego Garcia. No members of the Adjutant General's Corps (Military Provost Staff) are deployed there.

Defence Medical Services

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the strength of the Defence Medical Services was in (a) 1997, (b) 2000 and (c) 2003, broken down by (i) service, (ii) rank, (iii) specialisation and (iv) establishment.

Ivor Caplin: The strength of the Defence Medical Services by Service and specialism for each of the three years is broken down as follows. Figures for the Royal Navy and the RAF were provided by the respective Medical Director's General, and the information for the Army was provided by DASA (Army).
	
		Royal Navy
		
			  October 
			 Category 1997 2000 2003 
		
		
			 Medical Officers 247 205 230 
			 Nurses:
			 Officer 48 67 87 
			 Other Ranks 196 197 301 
			 Medical Support Officers 51 53 48 
			 Medical Technicians (including ODPs):
			 Officers 0 1 8 
			 Other Ranks 96 97 80 
			 Medical 607 678 594 
			 Assistants/Combat Medical Technicians   (other ranks)
			 Dental Officers 67 55 68 
			 Dental Support Services:
			 Officers 0 0 0 
			 Other Ranks 104 102 114 
			 Total 1416 1455 1530 
		
	
	
		Army
		
			October 
			 Category 1997 2000 2003 
		
		
			 Other Officers (including Medical Officers   and Medical Support Officers) (See note) 600 600 730 
			 Nurses:
			 Officer 250 280 290 
			 Other Ranks 420 440 600 
			 Medical Technicians (including ODPs) 280 260 260 
			 Combat Medical Technicians (other ranks) 1430 1460 1630 
			 Dental Officers 150 150 160 
			 Dental Support Services (Officers and   other ranks) 210 230 260 
			 Total 3340 3420 3930 
		
	
	
		Royal Air Force
		
			October 
			 Category 1997 2000 2003 
		
		
			 Medical Officers 239 187 185 
			 Nurses:
			 Officer 102 112 118 
			 Other Ranks 192 215 346 
			 Medical Support Officers 31 45 76 
			 Medical Technicians (including ODPs):
			 Officers 22 15 13 
			 Other Ranks 125 107 127 
			 Medical Assistants/Combat Medical   Technicians (other ranks) 521 600 768 
			 Dental Officers 87 72 74 
			 Dental Support Services:
			 Officers 0 0 3 
			 Other Ranks 218 209 210 
			 Total 1537 1562 1920 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures shown are broken down between officers and other ranks.
	2. Historical data on the location of personnel is not held centrally, and would be available only at disproportionate cost.
	3. The Army manpower data is rounded to the nearest 10. Available figures for 1997 are not broken down between Medical Officers and Medical Support Officers.
	4. All figures include both trained and untrained personnel.

Departmental Executive Agencies

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's (a) executive agencies, (b) trading funds and (c) executive non-departmental public bodies for financial years (i) 200304 and (ii) 200405.

Ivor Caplin: In financial year 200304, the Ministry of Defence had the following defence agencies, trading funds and executive non-departmental public bodies:
	(a) Defence agencies:
	Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
	Army Personnel Centre
	Army Training and Recruiting Agency
	British Forces Post Office
	Defence Analytical Services Agency
	Defence Bills Agency
	Defence Communication Services Agency
	Defence Dental Agency
	Defence Estates
	Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency
	Defence Housing Executive
	Defence Intelligence and Security Centre
	Defence Medical Education and Training Agency
	Defence Procurement Agency
	Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
	Defence Transport and Movements Agency
	Defence Vetting Agency
	Disposal Services Agency
	Duke of York's Royal Military School
	Medical Supplies Agency
	Ministry of Defence Police
	Naval Manning Agency
	Naval Recruiting and Training Agency
	Pay and Personnel Agency
	Queen Victoria School
	RAF Personnel Management Agency
	RAF Training Group Defence Agency
	Service Children's Education
	Veterans Agency
	Warship Support Agency
	(b) Trading Fund agencies:
	ABRO
	Defence Aviation and Repair Agency
	Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
	Met Office
	United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
	(c) Executive non-departmental public bodies:
	Fleet Air Arm Museum
	National Army Museum
	Oil and Pipelines Agency
	RAF Museum
	Royal Marines Museum
	Royal Navy Submarine Museum
	Royal Naval Museum
	In financial year 200405, the Ministry of Defence trading fund and executive non-departmental public bodies remain the same. There has however been a reduction of four in the number of defence agencies. The three single service personnel agencies ceased to have agency status from 1 April 2004, as set out in my written statement of 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 24WS. The Defence Housing Executive merged with Defence Estates as set out in my written statement of 30 March 2004, Official Report, columns 8889WS. In addition, the Ministry of Defence Police has been re-named the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency after taking on the Ministry of Defence Guard Service.
	The revised list of defence agencies for 200405 is shown as follows.
	(a) Defence agencies
	Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
	Army Training and Recruiting Agency
	British Forces Post Office
	Defence Analytical Services Agency
	Defence Bills Agency
	Defence Communication Services Agency
	Defence Dental Agency
	Defence Estates
	Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency
	Defence Intelligence and Security Centre
	Defence Medical Education and Training Agency
	Defence Procurement Agency
	Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
	Defence Transport and Movements Agency
	Defence Vetting Agency
	Disposal Services Agency
	Duke of York's Royal Military School
	Medical Supplies Agency
	Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
	Naval Recruiting and Training Agency
	Pay and Personnel Agency
	Queen Victoria School
	RAF Training Group Defence Agency
	Service Children's Education
	Veterans Agency
	Warship Support Agency.

International Committee of the Red Cross

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what (a) instruction and (b) guidance his (i) officials and (ii) Ministers were following prior to the decision not to make the February International Committee of the Red Cross report available to him as soon as it became available to his Department;
	(2)  what (a) written and (b) oral briefing was provided by officials in his Department to inform (i) him and (ii) his Ministers of the contents of the International Committee of the Red Cross report and actions taken (A) as a result of officials having read the report and (B)   prior to the full report being made available to him.

Geoff Hoon: Ministers were made aware of those issues in the ICRC interim report relating to United Kingdom armed forces five months before they were made aware of the report. Ministers subsequently received an explanation of the handling of the full report over the weekend of 89 May 2004. The sequence of events is set out in my reply today to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames).

Land Releases (Hampshire)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2004, Official Report, column 662W on land releases (Hampshire), if he will make a statement on the consultation process that will follow announcements about land disposals.

Ivor Caplin: In Hampshire, as elsewhere, as soon as an opportunity to rationalise the estate emerges, we begin the consultation process with all concerned, including staff and local authorities, to inform identification of options (including alternative defence uses) and to ensure that all relevant factors, including sustainability issues, are taken into account when decisions are made.
	In recognition of the high concentration of defence sites in the County, Defence Estates hold twice-yearly liaison meetings involving all the local authorities in Hampshire to discuss all relevant issues. The last meeting was on 18 March 2004.
	In the case of disposals, it is our usual policy to work within the planning process led by local authorities. In addition all disposal sites are now put on the Register of Surplus Public Sector Assets, operated by English Partnerships, for 40 working days. Former owner and pre-emption rights are, of course, taken into account where appropriate. Sites are usually sold on the open market with the benefit of planning permission, and this will involve discussion with local planning authorities in regard to local or unitary plans, alternative uses that might be permitted and the views of the community. Listed and environmentally sensitive sites are dealt with under specific guidelines.

Missile Defence

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has (a) made to and (b) received from the United States on the UK's participation in the development of missile defence in the past six months; and if he will make a statement on British participation.

Geoff Hoon: I have neither made representations to, nor received any from, the United States on the subject of the United Kingdom participation in US plans for Missile Defence in the last six months. Missile Defence issues have been discussed in contacts with the US Defence Secretary and others. Officials also keep in close touch with the US Administration to monitor developments. On 5 February 2003, the Government announced that it had agreed to a US request for the upgrade of RAF Fylingdales to enable for missile defence purposes.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received of Coalition forces in Iraq abusing (a) women and (b) children; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: Amnesty International's report of 11 May contains an allegation regarding United Kingdom armed forces over the death of an Iraqi child. I am also aware of another allegation recently raised in a letter from Amnesty International, involving a 16-year-old Iraqi boy. The Royal Military Police had already initiated investigations into both these cases, and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
	A report from Women Against Rape received on 17 May 2004 by the Ministry of Defence contains non-specific allegations and photographs of alleged rapes. The photographs have been scrutinised by the Royal Military Police and it has been confirmed that no UK armed forces personnel were involved.
	I cannot comment on allegations relating to Coalition partners.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions over the last 12 months the Secretary of State has seen reports by Amnesty International relating to the treatment by the Coalition forces of prisoners of war and other matters in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 14 May 2004
	The Ministry of Defence receives a number of communications from Amnesty International, including letters from different officers and officials, letters received as a result of AI campaigns and reports. Some are dealt with by officials, others by Ministers.
	Following a range of correspondence to the Ministry of Defence from Amnesty I wrote to Director Amnesty International United Kingdom on 24 July 2003. I received details of eight incidents relating to UK forces in a letter on 16 April. On 10 May I received a report entitled Iraqkillings of civilians in Basra and Al-Amara which included descriptions of the same incidents. I subsequently received a copy of Amnesty's 14 May letter to the Prime Minister which included descriptions of four further incidents.
	We take all allegations of wrongdoing against the UK armed forces very seriously. Some of the incidents raised by Amnesty have been identified and are subject to investigation; others require further research. The Minister of State for the Armed Forces has written to Amnesty saying that we will send to them a comprehensive response to the Amnesty reports, when this work is complete.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the International Committee of the Red Cross report on the treatment by Coalition forces of prisoners of war in Iraq was handed to the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ); on what date the report was passed from PJHQ to the Department, and to whom; and on what date the report was passed to him.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 14 May 2004
	The International Committee of the Red Cross's Report on the Treatment by the Coalition Forces of Prisoners of War and other Protected Persons by the Geneva Conventions in Iraq during Arrest, Internment and Interrogation, dated 10 February 2004, was formally passed to Ambassador Bremer and Lt. Gen. Sanchez on 26 February. An advance copy was passed by an official working for the Coalition Provisional Authority to the offices of Sir Jeremy Greenstock and the Senior British Military Representative in Iraq on 12 February. The latter passed a copy of the report to Headquarters Multi-National Division (South East) on 13 February and to the Permanent Joint Headquarters on 16 February, and posted a copy to the Ministry of Defence that arrived on 27 February. A copy of the report was sent to my office on 7 May.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the written reply to the International Committee of the Red Cross report on the treatment by Coalition forces of prisoners of war in Iraq was made by his   Department; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Geoff Hoon: holding answer 14 May 2004
	The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not mention any requirement for a formal response in presenting their report of February 2004.
	The report covered visits that had taken place between three and eleven months earlier and there were no specific cases for the United Kingdom that were new. A new report, specific to the UK, was expected at the time and it was decided to wait until this new report was received before formally responding to the ICRC.

Wind Farms

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends to object for operational flying reasons to the erection of a wind turbine at Shipdham in Norfolk.

Ivor Caplin: We are aware of a wind farm proposal for two wind turbines at Shipdham, Norfolk. The Ministry of Defence has not objected to the development.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Agenda for Change

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards meeting staffing targets set out in Agenda for Change, with particular reference to (a) nurses and (b) health visitors.

Angela Smith: Specific staffing targets are not part of Agenda for Change. Staffing is a matter for individual Health and Social Services Trusts taking into account factors such as service needs and available resources. However, the Department has a role in ensuring that sufficient suitably qualified staff are available to meet the needs of the service and to monitor workforce levels in Trusts. This will be done through workforce planning mechanisms, which provide an analysis of the current workforce and of current and future recruitment and retention issues. These encompass issues such as the number of staff required to meet service demands and address skill-mix options. These workforce plans will inform decisions on future student intake levels

Benefit Recipients

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recipients of (a) sickness benefit, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) disability living allowance there were in Northern Ireland in the last three years for which figures are available.

John Spellar: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 At 30 November Number of recipients 
		
		
			 Disability living allowance  
			 2001 142,984 
			 2002 148,025 
			 2003 155,295 
			   
			 Incapacity benefit  
			 2001 70,905 
			 2002 71,771 
			 2003 71,974 
		
	
	Sickness benefit was replaced by incapacity benefit in 1995 and unfortunately the figures requested are no longer available.

Disability Living Allowance

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of people in Northern Ireland are in receipt of disability living allowance.

John Spellar: As of February 2004 there where 159,911 people in receipt of disability living allowance. This equates to 9.4 per cent. of the population of Northern Ireland and 10.8 per cent. of the population who would be eligible to claim i.e. those under 65.

Heart Transplants

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of waiting time between diagnosis and assessment of patients requiring heart transplant was in Northern Ireland in 2003.

Angela Smith: Four out of the seven patients who underwent initial review in Belfast, were listed for transplant and underwent residential assessment in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Individually the time between their review and assessment was two months, less than three months, five months and six months respectively.

Heart Transplants

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to reduce the length of time between diagnosis and assessment of patients requiring heart transplants in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Heart transplants are not performed in Northern Ireland. Local patients travel to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for this operation. The timing of a cardiac transplant assessment for Northern Ireland patients is dependent upon the patient's clinical need, as determined by the referring consultant cardiologist in consultation with the transplant team from the Freeman Hospital. Non-urgent referrals are normally seen in the transplant assessment outreach clinic in Belfast City Hospital, which is attended by a consultant transplant physician and transplant co-ordinator three or four times a year. Urgent referrals can be assessed in the Freeman Hospital within days, depending upon the patient's clinical need.

Heart Transplants

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision is made for counselling of parents of children under 16 in Northern Ireland who are diagnosed as being in need of a heart transplant.

Angela Smith: Heart transplants for children under 16 are provided at two centres in the UKthe Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Great Ormond Street hospital in London.
	Counselling, support and education are provided at these centres for all children assessed as requiring a heart transplant. These services, which are provided by an experienced multi-disciplinary team of professionals, are also available to parents and carers.

Industrial Wage Rate

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average industrial wage in Northern Ireland is.

Barry Gardiner: In all industries in Northern Ireland, average gross weekly earnings of all full-time adult employees was 404.50 at April 2003. The average gross weekly earnings by industry is as follows:
	
		
			 Industry Average gross weekly pay () 
		
		
			 Agriculture, hunting and forestry 273.60 
			 Mining and quarrying 350.60 
			 Manufacturing 374.30 
			 Electricity, gas and water supply 596.30 
			 Construction 372.00 
			 Wholesale and retail trade 336.10 
			 Hotels and restaurants 269.60 
			 Transport, storage and communication 386.70 
			 Financial intermediation 507.40 
			 Real estate, renting and business activities 387.60 
			 Public administration and defence, compulsory social security 451.60 
			 Education 507.30 
			 Health and social work 419.90 
			 Other community social and personal activities 370.50 
			 All industries 404.50

Invest Northern Ireland

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average financial assistance offered by Invest Northern Ireland to (a) inward investors and (b) indigenous investors was per job created in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: Comprehensive and consistent information for job creation over time is not available for the full client company base of Invest Northern Ireland. Data on jobs promoted (expected to be created) is available for projects secured between 199899 and 200203 together with the financial assistance offered to promote those jobs.
	Previous evidence provided by IDB to the Northern Ireland Audit Office showed that approximately 70 per cent. of jobs promoted were created and a similar proportion of grant offered was actually paid.
	The information provided in the tables does not reflect all job promotions as a result of Invest NI activity, but is restricted to those generally larger indigenous businesses and inward investors for which historical information on job promotions is currently available. The focus of much of Invest NI's activity is on capability building as opposed to capacity building with the aim of strengthening business competitiveness in Northern Ireland, which in turn will lead to an increase of wealth in the economy.
	
		Jobs promoted by inward investors
		
			 Financial year Jobs promoted Assistance offered for job promotions () Cost per job promoted () 
		
		
			 199899 4,162 29,261,639 7,031 
			 19992000 6,584 65,086,586 9,886 
			 200001 5,506 40,305,849 7,320 
			 200102 2,526 28,582,770 11,315 
			 200203 1,033 8,873,866 8,590 
			 Grand total 19,811 172,110,711 8,688 
		
	
	
		Jobs promoted by indigenous investors
		
			 Financial year Jobs promoted Assistance offered for job promotions () Cost per job promoted () 
		
		
			 19989 1,272 15,766,331 12,395 
			 19992000 561 4,061,287 7,239 
			 200001 2,090 14,851,008 7,106 
			 200102 370 1,471,357 3,977 
			 200203 1,661 20,340,041 12,246 
			 Grand total 5,954 56,490,024 9,488

National Stadium

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when a decision is expected to be made on the timing and location of a national stadium for Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: I made a announcement on 24 May 2004 outlining how the Stadium issue is to be taken forward. I have arranged for a copy to be sent to the hon. Gentleman and made available in the Library.

Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will list the dates on which he has had meetings with the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland since his appointment as Secretary of State;
	(2)  if he will list the dates of meetings he has had with the Police Ombudsman since his appointment.

Paul Murphy: Since my appointment as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I have met the Police Ombudsman informally on a number of occasions. I have had one formal meeting with her, on 28 May 2003, and intend holding a further one soon.

Police Service

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time police reservists are deployed on (a) operational duties and (b) in critical support functions in each district command unit.

Ian Pearson: The following breakdown shows the current deployment of members of the Full Time Reserve using classifications defined by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, as follows:
	
		
			  District Command Units Headquarters and Regions 
		
		
			 Operational 1,424 47 
			 Operational support 62 28 
			 Organisational support 3 5 
			 Total 1,489 80 
		
	
	A breakdown of the officers within each District Command Unit is illustrated as follows.
	The HMIC classifications used are defined as follows:
	Operational:
	Any member of staff, including covert staff, whose primary role (i.e. over 50 per cent. of their time) is directly to deliver the overarching aims of the Police Service. To 'directly deliver' the role must involve routine and immediate interface (either face to face or by telephone) with the public including covert operations. Staff in such roles can be considered as frontline service providers;
	Operational Support:
	Any member of staff whose primary role is to support the delivery of the overarching aims of the police service.
	Organisational Support:
	A member of staff whose primary role is to service the internal needs of the organisation.
	
		
			 DCU Operational Operational support Organisational support Total 
		
		
			 Antrim 36 7 1 44 
			 Ards 44 4  48 
			 Armagh 65  1 66 
			 Banbridge 22 1  23 
			 Belfast East 109 4  113 
			 Belfast North 66 7  73 
			 Belfast South 96 5  101 
			 Belfast West 132 6  138 
			 Ballymena 27 1  28 
			 Ballymoney 12   12 
			 Carrickfergus 29 12  41 
			 Coleraine 36   36 
			 Cookstown 23 1  24 
			 Craigavon 48   48 
			 Castlereagh 55 1  56 
			 Dungannon 43 1  44 
			 Down 51 1  52 
			 Fermanagh 60 2  62 
			 Foyle 75 5  80 
			 Larne 16   16 
			 Limavady 22   22 
			 Lisburn 76 1  77 
			 Magherafelt 53   53 
			 Moyle 10   10 
			 Newtownabbey 23   23 
			 North Down 63   63 
			 Newry/Mourne 58 2  60 
			 Omagh 29  1 30 
			 Strabane 45 1  46 
			 Total 1,424 62 3 1,489

Sexual Offences

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when consultation proposals on sexual offences in Northern Ireland will be issued, following the announcement of a review in October 2003.

John Spellar: We have not yet completed our consideration of this issue.

Sexual Offences

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to ensure that children in Northern Ireland are afforded the same protection as those in England and Wales under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

John Spellar: The Sexual Offences Act 2003 was implemented on 1 May 2004. Of the 19 offences which extend directly to Northern Ireland in the Act, 9 of these relate specifically to offences against children. For example, the new offence of meeting a child following sexual grooming provides for a vital new level of protection for our children.
	We have also taken the opportunity to extend to Northern Ireland the strengthened provisions which protect children, often particularly vulnerable children, who are in relationships of trust with adults.
	The Act also creates new offences which specifically criminalise the abuse of children through prostitution and pornography.
	The new offence of sexual activity in a public toilet also extends to Northern Ireland, and is an indication that this sort of behaviour, which is clearly inappropriate in a public toilet, will not be tolerated, particularly where children can be present.
	These changes represent a significant improvement in the level of protection offered to children in Northern Ireland.

Water Cannon

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether it is his policy that public funds should bear the cost of financial liability for injuries sustained through use of water cannon loaned by the Police Service of Northern Ireland to the Irish authorities.

Ian Pearson: The loan of the water cannon was agreed directly between PSNI and An Garda Siochana. I have been advised by PSNI that the service level agreement between PSNI and An Garda Siochana for the loan of the water cannon includes a specific provision indemnifying PSNI against all proceedings, costs, liabilities and expenses whatsoever in relation to damage, loss, injury or death arising out of the use of water cannons while in the Republic of Ireland.